By Ron S. La Vine
President of Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
When speaking with someone over the phone for the first time, we do not have the luxury of visual cues therefore it becomes even more important to make a good impression suing our voice.
Yes, your voice is a sales tool and how it is used over the phone can often make the difference between getting the sale or losing it to a competitor. In their book "Put Your Best Foot Forward, Make a Great Impression By Taking Control of How Others see You" Jo-Ellan Dimitirus, Ph.D. and Mark Mazzarella devote a whole chapter to voice alone.
The key point of the chapter is this. People dislike irritating, harsh, loud, quiet or boring voices and are attracted to deeper, more vibrant, energetic, clear and moderately paced speech. Similar to a car radio if the signal is static-filled or unclear, we change the station. If the signal's crisp and clear, we listen.
To build a voice that sells requires learning how to send out crisp and clear signals and that takes practice. Here's an exercise for you to do just that practice.
Pickup a digital recorder and then once a day for a week set aside 15 minutes to pick-up the daily newspaper and read aloud and record the stories on the front page in your normal voice. Next, read the same material only this time, read it with confidence, authority, and credibility just as an anchor on the evening news. How do you sound?
Remember you can control the emotion (up and down), volume (loud or soft), pace (fast or slow), tone and pitch (high or low) and accent of your voice. Your goal is a voice that shows controlled emotion, a lower pitch, has a moderate pace and has a standard accent for your country. It requires conscious effort however in the long run you will have developed a voice that sells.
REPRINT PERMISSION
Ron LaVine, MBA is president and founder of Accelerated Sales Training, Inc., a live cold call training firm located in Oak Park, CA. You can get a special report “41 sales Tips You Can Use Right Now” AND the free bimonthly Sales Tips for Selling Success eZine all by signing up at http://www.ast-incorp.com. If you would like information on Live Cold Calling Sales Training please call Ron at 818-991-6487 PST. © 2010 by Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
HOW MUCH PRE-CALL RESEARCH IS TOO MUCH
By Ron LaVine
President of Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
There has been a great deal of questions in my workshops lately about how to use email in conjunction with leads coming off the Internet. How do you know if you have research before following up? How can you use email as an effective tool to create specific follow-up action steps? With that in mind, here is an example of an email I received from a company we'll call “WeKnowItAll Company".
Our story begins with WeKnowItAll sending me an email inviting me to access their online company research subscription service free for two days. One of the things I love to do, is to use the WWW for doing research on my competitors, my clients, my client's clients, their industry and competitors, my prospects, my prospect's clients and my prospect's industry and competitors.
The biggest danger of using the Web for research is you can find yourself in "analysis paralysis" and can often end up spending more time on the Internet then you do on the phone selling and generating revenue. My suggestion is to set up a specific set of questions to answer, which once answered should provide enough basic pre-call research. Ron, stop stalling, where's the list of questions? Hey, relax and don't worry, the list is towards the bottom.
Now I'm saying to myself, hmmm, free trial for two days. Oh boy, I'm going to have some fun and put this baby through its paces. Let's see what types of information I can find that is really useful for my specific needs. I set a specific goal for this test. My goal was to identify certain personnel within target prospect companies I'm looking to do business with. I was evaluating based upon two criteria at this point. One was what was the quality of the information provided? Secondly, how easy was it to access that information?
I start using WeKnowItAll online database by myself without any guidance and off the bat I've got a log-on problem. Rule number one; if you want someone to try something, without any assistance, providing clear and simple instructions is an excellent way to make a good impression. Finally I'm able to log-in, and the amounts of choices are mind boggling. Anyone who knows me knows I'm a big fan of simplicity and ease of use. This site, although very comprehensive it was also very cluttered and confusing.
I found myself going back and forth from one screen to another trying to find where the profiles of company personnel were located. Apparently, depending on the type of company (public or private), there may or may not be personnel information and it may or may not be always located on the same page. In other words you often had to spend a lot of time digging for it.
After about fifteen minutes I started to get frustrated with my free two-day trial and moved on to other tasks. Below is the email I received the day after my two-day trial (or in my case fifteen minute) was over.
In between the person's statements, you'll find my comments in [brackets]. Finally you'll read my email response back to this person with a list of 12 pre-call research questions.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is the email I received after my trial ended…
Hi Ron:
[Do I know you? I've never met you. Wouldn't it be wiser to err on the side of good manners? Change the salutation to "Hello Mr. La Vine"]
I just left you a voice mail message also.
[About what?]
Please let me know when you would be interested in scheduling a demo of the site.
[Why would I want to take my valuable time and schedule a demo of your site since it is not clear to me what value you bring to the table?]
As you may know, WeKnowItAll provides unbiased editorial coverage on over 18,500 large and medium-sized companies. We also show accurate details on each company such as contact names, products, competitive landscapes and financials.
[How would I know this? What's a competitive landscape? Is it a cross-matrix comparing one company's products to another's? Is it a simple listing of competitors, which I can get off of Yahoo's company profiles? Come to think of it, what information does your service provide that I can't get either for free or from one of your competitors?]
We also offer Advanced Search functions that would allow you to search for specific companies or contacts by title, industry, location, private companies, Fiscal Year End, or other means.
[And this means I'll be able to do what? What are the benefits of knowing this information? What will knowing this information enable me to do?]
There are two levels of business subscriptions:
[What are the specific benefits of subscribing? How will it enable me to do my job faster, better, less expensively (cheaper) or easier? What types of increases or decreases, more or less results can I expect based upon testimonials from other of your clients?]
WeKnowItAll Power Plus (all access + unlimited free lead downloads into Excel) WeKnowItAll Total Power (all access)
[If for some reason I don't have Excel, can it be downloaded into Comma Delimited Text Fields (name, title, phone number, etc.) What I really need is a CD-Version. I wonder if they have one.]
Sample WeKnowItAll Profiles: http://www.WeKnowItAll.com
Please give me a call if you have any questions or would like a demo of the site.
[You already let me have a free two-day demo without any kind of commitment. I might give you call, however first I've got to figure out (in this case by myself) how to get the service to work, so don't expect a call. Besides, I don't know your office hours or if there are alternative means to reach you such a responding to this email or calling your cell phone.]
Kind regards,
Ann Smartster 1.888.123.4567 ext. 1234 asmartster@ WeKnowItAll.com http://www.WeKnowItAll.com
[Where is your tag line explaining what you do? For example: WeKnowItAll enables you to easily turn raw online data into real revenue.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is my response to her prior email.
Hi Ann,
I have a few questions for you.
1. Did you stop by www.ast-incorp.com and see what my company does?
2. Do you know who my clients are?
3. Have you determined the industry in which I specialize?
4. What size is my company in terms of gross sales and number of employees?
5. Based upon the size of my company and the type of information I may need, how profitable of a prospect is my company for you? Should you be investing your limited sales time with me? On what types of companies in which industries do you make the most money?
6. Is my company hiring and if so, what types of people for which types of projects?
7. Have you signed up for my company's newsletter or requested my company's literature to learn more about what my company does and what is considered important?
8. Did you read in my bio? If you did you would see that I was a past member of the Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals and the Association of Independent Information Professionals. Does knowing that information, help you create some rapport questions to ask me?
9. Are you prepared to show me examples of data gathered from WeKnowItAll on two or three of my clients as examples of the type of data I would have access to on my prospects using different versions of WeKnowItAll?
10. Based upon what I do and the types of companies I target, can you deduce what type of information I'll be looking for?
11. What are two areas where I could possibly use WeKnowItAll?
12. Since my target market has a demand for your type of service, is there a possibility you can help me to help you sell more of your service to my target market?
I'll wait for your answers and then we'll discuss it. You can reach me in my office on Thursday morning when we can set up a time and date to see if there is a fit between our companies.
All the best to you,
Ron
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Continued from above…
Set up a specific list of basic questions for pre-call research. Then think outside the box and look at all the possibilities including reseller and affiliate relationships. Maybe you do business with one of your prospect's clients. Maybe you are affiliated with one of your prospect's other suppliers.
After you do make contact, remember, at the end of every call or email, there needs to be specific a request that action be taken. For example, here is a request I use quite often in my emails. It works quite well since people enjoy giving advice:
Example:
"Please advise."
Thanks, Ron
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another Example:
"I found an article on one of your competitors; I think maybe of value to you. Your assistant gave me permission to fax it to you.
"I'll call this afternoon to be sure you received it and to discuss if there maybe a good fit between our two companies. At that time, I'll also be able to provide you with some specific ideas where we maybe able to give you a competitive advantage"
All the best to you,
Ron
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another Example:
Hi Mr. Smith,
As we discussed, you are looking to hire more reps in the Business Intelligence /Information Management space. We also agreed that our selling philosophies a rather identical.
Your main goal is to teach your reps how to hunt effectively and ferret out opportunities in short order. Your reps are dealing with customers and resellers. I have an article from Software Magazine that I will fax to you. You may it of value to you when you go to cost justify the sales training to your management.
Since you need to have another two people on board before we can finalize the training dates, I sent you a list of web sites where you can find sales reps, sent the job criterion you e-mailed to me out to my job seekers list. I also sent you two possible candidates.
You have people in both Reston and Denver and all will be in Denver the week of September 9th before two weeks of ABC University. We spoke of setting up a two-day class during the week of September 9th.
You mentioned you need to run this by Tim, Dan and then Andy for budget approval. Attached is a sample Agreement with a fee schedule for your review and signature.
I will follow this email with more specific details about the live sales call-training workshop, which you can read at your convenience. This will include comments from people who mentioned they wished they had this type of training prior to their product training.
I look forward to speaking with you on Wednesday, September 28 at 8am PST when I will call you at: 303-555-1234 to discuss the next steps needed to put a live sales call training workshop in place for ABC.
Please call me at 818-991-6487 if you have questions before then.
All the best to you,
Ron
The Lesson…
Don't send emails asking me to call you or to do something, unless you have provided information or topics of value specifically related to my company. This type of information may include insights you want to share about my clients, prospects, industry or competitors that would be worth me taking my time to discuss.
Separate yourself from the rest of the reps who do no homework and then expect that their products and services alone will generate sales.
REPRINT PERMISSION
Ron LaVine, MBA is president and founder of Accelerated Sales Training, Inc., a live cold call training firm located in Oak Park, CA. You can get a special report “41 sales Tips You Can Use Right Now” AND the free bimonthly Sales Tips for Selling Success eZine all by signing up at http://www.ast-incorp.com. If you would like information on Live Cold Calling Sales Training please call Ron at 818-991-6487 PST. © 2010 by Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
President of Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
There has been a great deal of questions in my workshops lately about how to use email in conjunction with leads coming off the Internet. How do you know if you have research before following up? How can you use email as an effective tool to create specific follow-up action steps? With that in mind, here is an example of an email I received from a company we'll call “WeKnowItAll Company".
Our story begins with WeKnowItAll sending me an email inviting me to access their online company research subscription service free for two days. One of the things I love to do, is to use the WWW for doing research on my competitors, my clients, my client's clients, their industry and competitors, my prospects, my prospect's clients and my prospect's industry and competitors.
The biggest danger of using the Web for research is you can find yourself in "analysis paralysis" and can often end up spending more time on the Internet then you do on the phone selling and generating revenue. My suggestion is to set up a specific set of questions to answer, which once answered should provide enough basic pre-call research. Ron, stop stalling, where's the list of questions? Hey, relax and don't worry, the list is towards the bottom.
Now I'm saying to myself, hmmm, free trial for two days. Oh boy, I'm going to have some fun and put this baby through its paces. Let's see what types of information I can find that is really useful for my specific needs. I set a specific goal for this test. My goal was to identify certain personnel within target prospect companies I'm looking to do business with. I was evaluating based upon two criteria at this point. One was what was the quality of the information provided? Secondly, how easy was it to access that information?
I start using WeKnowItAll online database by myself without any guidance and off the bat I've got a log-on problem. Rule number one; if you want someone to try something, without any assistance, providing clear and simple instructions is an excellent way to make a good impression. Finally I'm able to log-in, and the amounts of choices are mind boggling. Anyone who knows me knows I'm a big fan of simplicity and ease of use. This site, although very comprehensive it was also very cluttered and confusing.
I found myself going back and forth from one screen to another trying to find where the profiles of company personnel were located. Apparently, depending on the type of company (public or private), there may or may not be personnel information and it may or may not be always located on the same page. In other words you often had to spend a lot of time digging for it.
After about fifteen minutes I started to get frustrated with my free two-day trial and moved on to other tasks. Below is the email I received the day after my two-day trial (or in my case fifteen minute) was over.
In between the person's statements, you'll find my comments in [brackets]. Finally you'll read my email response back to this person with a list of 12 pre-call research questions.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is the email I received after my trial ended…
Hi Ron:
[Do I know you? I've never met you. Wouldn't it be wiser to err on the side of good manners? Change the salutation to "Hello Mr. La Vine"]
I just left you a voice mail message also.
[About what?]
Please let me know when you would be interested in scheduling a demo of the site.
[Why would I want to take my valuable time and schedule a demo of your site since it is not clear to me what value you bring to the table?]
As you may know, WeKnowItAll provides unbiased editorial coverage on over 18,500 large and medium-sized companies. We also show accurate details on each company such as contact names, products, competitive landscapes and financials.
[How would I know this? What's a competitive landscape? Is it a cross-matrix comparing one company's products to another's? Is it a simple listing of competitors, which I can get off of Yahoo's company profiles? Come to think of it, what information does your service provide that I can't get either for free or from one of your competitors?]
We also offer Advanced Search functions that would allow you to search for specific companies or contacts by title, industry, location, private companies, Fiscal Year End, or other means.
[And this means I'll be able to do what? What are the benefits of knowing this information? What will knowing this information enable me to do?]
There are two levels of business subscriptions:
[What are the specific benefits of subscribing? How will it enable me to do my job faster, better, less expensively (cheaper) or easier? What types of increases or decreases, more or less results can I expect based upon testimonials from other of your clients?]
WeKnowItAll Power Plus (all access + unlimited free lead downloads into Excel) WeKnowItAll Total Power (all access)
[If for some reason I don't have Excel, can it be downloaded into Comma Delimited Text Fields (name, title, phone number, etc.) What I really need is a CD-Version. I wonder if they have one.]
Sample WeKnowItAll Profiles: http://www.WeKnowItAll.com
Please give me a call if you have any questions or would like a demo of the site.
[You already let me have a free two-day demo without any kind of commitment. I might give you call, however first I've got to figure out (in this case by myself) how to get the service to work, so don't expect a call. Besides, I don't know your office hours or if there are alternative means to reach you such a responding to this email or calling your cell phone.]
Kind regards,
Ann Smartster 1.888.123.4567 ext. 1234 asmartster@ WeKnowItAll.com http://www.WeKnowItAll.com
[Where is your tag line explaining what you do? For example: WeKnowItAll enables you to easily turn raw online data into real revenue.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is my response to her prior email.
Hi Ann,
I have a few questions for you.
1. Did you stop by www.ast-incorp.com and see what my company does?
2. Do you know who my clients are?
3. Have you determined the industry in which I specialize?
4. What size is my company in terms of gross sales and number of employees?
5. Based upon the size of my company and the type of information I may need, how profitable of a prospect is my company for you? Should you be investing your limited sales time with me? On what types of companies in which industries do you make the most money?
6. Is my company hiring and if so, what types of people for which types of projects?
7. Have you signed up for my company's newsletter or requested my company's literature to learn more about what my company does and what is considered important?
8. Did you read in my bio? If you did you would see that I was a past member of the Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals and the Association of Independent Information Professionals. Does knowing that information, help you create some rapport questions to ask me?
9. Are you prepared to show me examples of data gathered from WeKnowItAll on two or three of my clients as examples of the type of data I would have access to on my prospects using different versions of WeKnowItAll?
10. Based upon what I do and the types of companies I target, can you deduce what type of information I'll be looking for?
11. What are two areas where I could possibly use WeKnowItAll?
12. Since my target market has a demand for your type of service, is there a possibility you can help me to help you sell more of your service to my target market?
I'll wait for your answers and then we'll discuss it. You can reach me in my office on Thursday morning when we can set up a time and date to see if there is a fit between our companies.
All the best to you,
Ron
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Continued from above…
Set up a specific list of basic questions for pre-call research. Then think outside the box and look at all the possibilities including reseller and affiliate relationships. Maybe you do business with one of your prospect's clients. Maybe you are affiliated with one of your prospect's other suppliers.
After you do make contact, remember, at the end of every call or email, there needs to be specific a request that action be taken. For example, here is a request I use quite often in my emails. It works quite well since people enjoy giving advice:
Example:
"Please advise."
Thanks, Ron
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another Example:
"I found an article on one of your competitors; I think maybe of value to you. Your assistant gave me permission to fax it to you.
"I'll call this afternoon to be sure you received it and to discuss if there maybe a good fit between our two companies. At that time, I'll also be able to provide you with some specific ideas where we maybe able to give you a competitive advantage"
All the best to you,
Ron
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another Example:
Hi Mr. Smith,
As we discussed, you are looking to hire more reps in the Business Intelligence /Information Management space. We also agreed that our selling philosophies a rather identical.
Your main goal is to teach your reps how to hunt effectively and ferret out opportunities in short order. Your reps are dealing with customers and resellers. I have an article from Software Magazine that I will fax to you. You may it of value to you when you go to cost justify the sales training to your management.
Since you need to have another two people on board before we can finalize the training dates, I sent you a list of web sites where you can find sales reps, sent the job criterion you e-mailed to me out to my job seekers list. I also sent you two possible candidates.
You have people in both Reston and Denver and all will be in Denver the week of September 9th before two weeks of ABC University. We spoke of setting up a two-day class during the week of September 9th.
You mentioned you need to run this by Tim, Dan and then Andy for budget approval. Attached is a sample Agreement with a fee schedule for your review and signature.
I will follow this email with more specific details about the live sales call-training workshop, which you can read at your convenience. This will include comments from people who mentioned they wished they had this type of training prior to their product training.
I look forward to speaking with you on Wednesday, September 28 at 8am PST when I will call you at: 303-555-1234 to discuss the next steps needed to put a live sales call training workshop in place for ABC.
Please call me at 818-991-6487 if you have questions before then.
All the best to you,
Ron
The Lesson…
Don't send emails asking me to call you or to do something, unless you have provided information or topics of value specifically related to my company. This type of information may include insights you want to share about my clients, prospects, industry or competitors that would be worth me taking my time to discuss.
Separate yourself from the rest of the reps who do no homework and then expect that their products and services alone will generate sales.
REPRINT PERMISSION
Ron LaVine, MBA is president and founder of Accelerated Sales Training, Inc., a live cold call training firm located in Oak Park, CA. You can get a special report “41 sales Tips You Can Use Right Now” AND the free bimonthly Sales Tips for Selling Success eZine all by signing up at http://www.ast-incorp.com. If you would like information on Live Cold Calling Sales Training please call Ron at 818-991-6487 PST. © 2010 by Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
HOW EASY IS IT TO DO BUSINESS WITH YOU?
By Ron S. La Vine
President of Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
As Dennis Miller would say, "Now, I don't want to get off on a rant" but why have corporations and businesses made it so hard to do business with them? Are they trying to drive business away? In an age where customer loyalty is a prized plum, it never ceases to amaze me to what lengths corporations will go through to aggravate and alienate their customer base.
As I say in class over and over, it is not always the big things that make the difference. In fact, quite often, it is the little things you do or say or how your company operates that sets you apart from the competition and wins you the big deals. It maybe better service, friendlier people, attention to detail, greater accessibility or a better attitude.
Ease of use ranks high on my list when doing business with someone. When companies make it hard or un-enjoyable for me to do business with them, my first thought is "Where else can I take my business?”Where else will my hard-earned dollars will be appreciated and I won't have to go through a war zone to get simple things done?"
For example, the bank I currently use allows you to bank online. I enjoy using the electronic bill pay feature. I can pay my bills from anywhere in the world. Here's the catch. I have a business account and a personal account however they cannot access each other (this bank actually has a separate web site for each). This means for me to pay bills using each account, I would need to pay for two bill-paying services. Does this make sense? Of course not and yet it occurs.
Example number two. There is a next-day shipping company whose service I really enjoy. What happened? I closed one credit card account and opened another. The billing department automatically charged me $10 Declined Credit Card charge without notifying me rather than contacting me and asking why my credit card was not working; I called up customer service (at least three times) and explained the situation. I gave the person a new credit card number and requested that they make notes in their customer service system. They did and they told everything was fine and taken care of. Wait a minute, I just opened my mail and there's another REPRINT OF ORIGINAL statement showing the same charges and that the bill is now overdue. To cut to the chase, I ended up calling the headquarters and explaining that because the people in billing could not access the notes from the people in customer service, his company nearly lost my account over $10.
Ron you're saying, $10 is no big deal. You're right however if you calculate the lifetime value of a client and then multiply by the number of clients you maybe losing due to what I call disconnects within a company's product and service delivery system, the potential dollars lost rises dramatically. The person at corporate was smart (probably why he was working in the executive offices). He simply asked, "What do we need to do to fix the problem?"
I replied, "Reverse the charge, take down my new credit card number and say I'm sorry. That's it. That's all. Nothing fancy." I also mentioned that if this is happening to me, I wonder how many other clients are being affected by the same situation. He said he'd make a point to check on their notification and CRM systems.
Do you know why I went to all this trouble to bring my business back to a company whom by all rights and means did not deserve it? It is because of the guy who picks up and drops off my packages. He always has a friendly smile and a happy hello. I like people like that and enjoy doing business with companies who employ people like that. He doesn't know it but it is his behavior that saved his company at least one client and possibly many more.
In closing, as a sales rep or any member of a company large or small, ask yourself every once in while, "How easy is it to do business with your company?" "Are there disconnects in your company's product and service delivery system (this includes a review of all departments, not one or two)?" "How easy is it to return something?" "When's the last time Sales asked Marketing for some data and it fell through the cracks or vice versa?" "How well do your departments share information internally?"
Sharing internal information is a very important issue in corporations and maybe why Customer Relationship Management has become such a hot topic that is being looked at very seriously. Studies show over and over again, it can cost 7 to 8 times more to get a new client as it does to keep an existing one. So keep your existing clients happy by making their experiences or points of contact with your company as enjoyable as possible.
REPRINT PERMISSION
Ron La Vine, MBA is president and founder of Accelerated Sales Training, Inc., a live cold call training firm located in Oak Park, CA. You can get a special report “41 sales Tips You Can Use Right Now” AND the free bimonthly Sales Tips for Selling Success eZine all by signing up at http://www.ast-incorp.com. If you would like information on Live Cold Calling Sales Training please call Ron at 818-991-6487 PST. © 2010 by Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
President of Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
As Dennis Miller would say, "Now, I don't want to get off on a rant" but why have corporations and businesses made it so hard to do business with them? Are they trying to drive business away? In an age where customer loyalty is a prized plum, it never ceases to amaze me to what lengths corporations will go through to aggravate and alienate their customer base.
As I say in class over and over, it is not always the big things that make the difference. In fact, quite often, it is the little things you do or say or how your company operates that sets you apart from the competition and wins you the big deals. It maybe better service, friendlier people, attention to detail, greater accessibility or a better attitude.
Ease of use ranks high on my list when doing business with someone. When companies make it hard or un-enjoyable for me to do business with them, my first thought is "Where else can I take my business?”Where else will my hard-earned dollars will be appreciated and I won't have to go through a war zone to get simple things done?"
For example, the bank I currently use allows you to bank online. I enjoy using the electronic bill pay feature. I can pay my bills from anywhere in the world. Here's the catch. I have a business account and a personal account however they cannot access each other (this bank actually has a separate web site for each). This means for me to pay bills using each account, I would need to pay for two bill-paying services. Does this make sense? Of course not and yet it occurs.
Example number two. There is a next-day shipping company whose service I really enjoy. What happened? I closed one credit card account and opened another. The billing department automatically charged me $10 Declined Credit Card charge without notifying me rather than contacting me and asking why my credit card was not working; I called up customer service (at least three times) and explained the situation. I gave the person a new credit card number and requested that they make notes in their customer service system. They did and they told everything was fine and taken care of. Wait a minute, I just opened my mail and there's another REPRINT OF ORIGINAL statement showing the same charges and that the bill is now overdue. To cut to the chase, I ended up calling the headquarters and explaining that because the people in billing could not access the notes from the people in customer service, his company nearly lost my account over $10.
Ron you're saying, $10 is no big deal. You're right however if you calculate the lifetime value of a client and then multiply by the number of clients you maybe losing due to what I call disconnects within a company's product and service delivery system, the potential dollars lost rises dramatically. The person at corporate was smart (probably why he was working in the executive offices). He simply asked, "What do we need to do to fix the problem?"
I replied, "Reverse the charge, take down my new credit card number and say I'm sorry. That's it. That's all. Nothing fancy." I also mentioned that if this is happening to me, I wonder how many other clients are being affected by the same situation. He said he'd make a point to check on their notification and CRM systems.
Do you know why I went to all this trouble to bring my business back to a company whom by all rights and means did not deserve it? It is because of the guy who picks up and drops off my packages. He always has a friendly smile and a happy hello. I like people like that and enjoy doing business with companies who employ people like that. He doesn't know it but it is his behavior that saved his company at least one client and possibly many more.
In closing, as a sales rep or any member of a company large or small, ask yourself every once in while, "How easy is it to do business with your company?" "Are there disconnects in your company's product and service delivery system (this includes a review of all departments, not one or two)?" "How easy is it to return something?" "When's the last time Sales asked Marketing for some data and it fell through the cracks or vice versa?" "How well do your departments share information internally?"
Sharing internal information is a very important issue in corporations and maybe why Customer Relationship Management has become such a hot topic that is being looked at very seriously. Studies show over and over again, it can cost 7 to 8 times more to get a new client as it does to keep an existing one. So keep your existing clients happy by making their experiences or points of contact with your company as enjoyable as possible.
REPRINT PERMISSION
Ron La Vine, MBA is president and founder of Accelerated Sales Training, Inc., a live cold call training firm located in Oak Park, CA. You can get a special report “41 sales Tips You Can Use Right Now” AND the free bimonthly Sales Tips for Selling Success eZine all by signing up at http://www.ast-incorp.com. If you would like information on Live Cold Calling Sales Training please call Ron at 818-991-6487 PST. © 2010 by Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
Monday, November 29, 2010
BUSINESS "LESSONS" LEARNED
By Ron S. La Vine
President of Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
1. If a business or an idea does not exist, create it. Create your own future by being open to change. As one door closes another one opens. I've created two businesses that did not exist since I was laid off in December of 1994.
2. Be willing to take risks, however, make them calculated risks by taking the time to develop and write a business plan.
3. Place a heavy emphasis on marketing by answering these questions:
Who We Are
What is the purpose of your page?
Why are you in business?
What We Do
What are the products or services you are offering?
What Makes Us Unique
How are you different from others? What is your (USP) Unique Selling Proposition?
Why Use Our Products or Services
Why would people want to do business with you?
How You Benefit
How does your potential customer benefit?
For example: A feature is a car door lock.
The benefit is the door cannot open when locked and therefore you cannot fall out.
Benefits are usually stated in terms of faster, better or less expensive (cheaper).
Who We Work With
Client lists establish credibility as do testimonials or comments from satisfied customers.
The Next Step
What action is the visitor directed to take?
For example: buy a product, request information on a service, subscribe to a newsletter, etc.
4. Develop an email newsletter to keep your name in front of your clients on a regular basis. One of my two e-mail newsletters comes out 52 weeks per year. Find content that helps prospects and customers with their business.
5. Establishing a presence on the World Wide Web is critical especially, if you do business nationwide or internationally.
6. Keep your eyes open for new opportunities. See if you can find a faster, better or cheaper way to perform a service or make a product.
7. Keep the overhead down. Expenses and lack of marketing will put anyone out of business.
8. Set up a Board of Advisors (not directors) composed of people you respect (professors, business people, friends, etc.). Seek their advice when necessary.
9. Enroll in classes and read books. Learn, how to do, what you do, better. Classes on selling, marketing and business skills are especially valuable.
10. Believe in yourself. You can if you think you can. Actions follow thoughts. So think good thoughts and focus on the positive.
11. Exude passion, excitement and enthusiasm when speaking about what you do.
12. People want to do business with people they know like and trust. Building credibility is crucial.
13. Right after completing a successful assignment, be sure to ask your client for a testimonial letter. These letters make very powerful marketing tools and enhance your credibility.
14. Persistence is key. Don' give up. It took 9 months to land my first client.
15. Take time to enjoy your success.
REPRINT PERMISSION
Ron La Vine, MBA is president and founder of Accelerated Sales Training, Inc., a live cold call training firm located in Oak Park, CA. You can get a special report “41 sales Tips You Can Use Right Now” AND the free bimonthly Sales Tips for Selling Success eZine all by signing up at http://www.ast-incorp.com. If you would like information on Live Cold Calling Sales Training please call Ron at 818-991-6487 PST. © 2010 by Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
President of Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
1. If a business or an idea does not exist, create it. Create your own future by being open to change. As one door closes another one opens. I've created two businesses that did not exist since I was laid off in December of 1994.
2. Be willing to take risks, however, make them calculated risks by taking the time to develop and write a business plan.
3. Place a heavy emphasis on marketing by answering these questions:
Who We Are
What is the purpose of your page?
Why are you in business?
What We Do
What are the products or services you are offering?
What Makes Us Unique
How are you different from others? What is your (USP) Unique Selling Proposition?
Why Use Our Products or Services
Why would people want to do business with you?
How You Benefit
How does your potential customer benefit?
For example: A feature is a car door lock.
The benefit is the door cannot open when locked and therefore you cannot fall out.
Benefits are usually stated in terms of faster, better or less expensive (cheaper).
Who We Work With
Client lists establish credibility as do testimonials or comments from satisfied customers.
The Next Step
What action is the visitor directed to take?
For example: buy a product, request information on a service, subscribe to a newsletter, etc.
4. Develop an email newsletter to keep your name in front of your clients on a regular basis. One of my two e-mail newsletters comes out 52 weeks per year. Find content that helps prospects and customers with their business.
5. Establishing a presence on the World Wide Web is critical especially, if you do business nationwide or internationally.
6. Keep your eyes open for new opportunities. See if you can find a faster, better or cheaper way to perform a service or make a product.
7. Keep the overhead down. Expenses and lack of marketing will put anyone out of business.
8. Set up a Board of Advisors (not directors) composed of people you respect (professors, business people, friends, etc.). Seek their advice when necessary.
9. Enroll in classes and read books. Learn, how to do, what you do, better. Classes on selling, marketing and business skills are especially valuable.
10. Believe in yourself. You can if you think you can. Actions follow thoughts. So think good thoughts and focus on the positive.
11. Exude passion, excitement and enthusiasm when speaking about what you do.
12. People want to do business with people they know like and trust. Building credibility is crucial.
13. Right after completing a successful assignment, be sure to ask your client for a testimonial letter. These letters make very powerful marketing tools and enhance your credibility.
14. Persistence is key. Don' give up. It took 9 months to land my first client.
15. Take time to enjoy your success.
REPRINT PERMISSION
Ron La Vine, MBA is president and founder of Accelerated Sales Training, Inc., a live cold call training firm located in Oak Park, CA. You can get a special report “41 sales Tips You Can Use Right Now” AND the free bimonthly Sales Tips for Selling Success eZine all by signing up at http://www.ast-incorp.com. If you would like information on Live Cold Calling Sales Training please call Ron at 818-991-6487 PST. © 2010 by Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
BE INTERESTED, NOT INTERESTING
By Ron S. La Vine
President of Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
I had an interesting conversation on the phone during class the other day. This took place over the course of 20 minutes or so with the class listening in on the conversation. Here are some of the details I can recall.
I called on a prospect that was entrenched with another supplier. After asking and receiving his permission to speak we covered all the reasons why he liked his current supplier. At this point my goal was to pinpoint what was of importance or value to him. I asked if he was aware of the current recall of a certain part of equipment his supplier recalled. My intention was not to attack the supplier rather instead to be sure he was aware of a potential problem. He said he was aware and that the supplier had done a good job of handling the situation.
Rather than attacking that supplier (never down talk the competition), I chose another tact. I asked "If we could do a better job than your current supplier, would you be open to considering what we have to offer?" His initial response was no.
So again I asked more questions about how was currently doing business and kept coming back to the same question above in different forms.
"What would we need to do to have you consider us as an additional supplier?" The answer was still no I'm not interested.
"What is it that you look for in a supplier and if we could provide all those requirements would you be open to evaluating our products?" Again he responded with he was happy with his current supplier.
I asked if he had heard or had any experience with our company and he replied he had a bad experience with another competitor and therefore was leery of considering replacement or adjunct suppliers. We agreed that his experience sounded unpleasant and I reminded him that we were not that supplier.
He mentioned that one of his executives had an experience with us where he had to take his equipment in to be repaired, which was time consuming. I explained we now offered on-site service that would eliminate that problem.
I kept the focus of the conversation on him and what was of value to him and why. I used good old-fashioned curiosity rather than giving up.
After letting him go on about his current supplier for a bit, I asked, "What would we need to do to do business with you?" This question did the trick. He detailed all the specs of the type of equipment he was currently using and said our product would have to meet all the specs plus have a better price.
I started asking about the current amounts of equipment he had in use and how often he was buying new equipment and in what quantities. This gave me the idea of the profitability to our company over the long run if we could get our foot in the door.
So I followed with "What specs would our equipment need to have for you to test or evaluate it?" He rattled off a dozen different things including specific amounts of memory, input-output speed and the ability to connect with his current storage system. Once the specs started pouring out I knew I had gained the opportunity I was looking for which was for him to be open to considering another or additional supplier.
So I took that information and asked my next question. "So what you are saying that if we had a piece of equipment that would meet or exceed those specs you would consider looking at it?" He came back with there would need to be no shipping charges. I said we would pick up the shipping charges.
He came back with he would need time to conduct the evaluation. I asked how much time. He said at least 30 days. I asked if 60 days would be enough time and he said plenty.
I summarized the conversation and the specs that were required in the equipment that he was going to receive and then set up a SALES M.A.P. (Mutually Agreed upon Process™) where we would configure the equipment and deliver it to him. I asked for his email so I could forward some detailed product specifications to him and said I would follow up with a phone call to be sure he received the email and to set up a time to drop off the equipment.
Learning to reframe situations in terms of what is important or of value to the other person combined with "If we could help you do it better, faster or less expensively" seems to make it harder for a person to say "no". Add this with being interested in what the other person is saying instead of trying to interesting by telling why you think your products are better and you have a winning combination.
REPRINT PERMISSION
Ron La Vine, MBA is president and founder of Accelerated Sales Training, Inc., a live cold call training firm located in Oak Park, CA. You can get a special report “41 sales Tips You Can Use Right Now” AND the free bimonthly Sales Tips for Selling Success eZine all by signing up at http://www.ast-incorp.com. If you would like information on Live Cold Calling Sales Training please call Ron at 818-991-6487 PST. © 2010 by Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
President of Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
I had an interesting conversation on the phone during class the other day. This took place over the course of 20 minutes or so with the class listening in on the conversation. Here are some of the details I can recall.
I called on a prospect that was entrenched with another supplier. After asking and receiving his permission to speak we covered all the reasons why he liked his current supplier. At this point my goal was to pinpoint what was of importance or value to him. I asked if he was aware of the current recall of a certain part of equipment his supplier recalled. My intention was not to attack the supplier rather instead to be sure he was aware of a potential problem. He said he was aware and that the supplier had done a good job of handling the situation.
Rather than attacking that supplier (never down talk the competition), I chose another tact. I asked "If we could do a better job than your current supplier, would you be open to considering what we have to offer?" His initial response was no.
So again I asked more questions about how was currently doing business and kept coming back to the same question above in different forms.
"What would we need to do to have you consider us as an additional supplier?" The answer was still no I'm not interested.
"What is it that you look for in a supplier and if we could provide all those requirements would you be open to evaluating our products?" Again he responded with he was happy with his current supplier.
I asked if he had heard or had any experience with our company and he replied he had a bad experience with another competitor and therefore was leery of considering replacement or adjunct suppliers. We agreed that his experience sounded unpleasant and I reminded him that we were not that supplier.
He mentioned that one of his executives had an experience with us where he had to take his equipment in to be repaired, which was time consuming. I explained we now offered on-site service that would eliminate that problem.
I kept the focus of the conversation on him and what was of value to him and why. I used good old-fashioned curiosity rather than giving up.
After letting him go on about his current supplier for a bit, I asked, "What would we need to do to do business with you?" This question did the trick. He detailed all the specs of the type of equipment he was currently using and said our product would have to meet all the specs plus have a better price.
I started asking about the current amounts of equipment he had in use and how often he was buying new equipment and in what quantities. This gave me the idea of the profitability to our company over the long run if we could get our foot in the door.
So I followed with "What specs would our equipment need to have for you to test or evaluate it?" He rattled off a dozen different things including specific amounts of memory, input-output speed and the ability to connect with his current storage system. Once the specs started pouring out I knew I had gained the opportunity I was looking for which was for him to be open to considering another or additional supplier.
So I took that information and asked my next question. "So what you are saying that if we had a piece of equipment that would meet or exceed those specs you would consider looking at it?" He came back with there would need to be no shipping charges. I said we would pick up the shipping charges.
He came back with he would need time to conduct the evaluation. I asked how much time. He said at least 30 days. I asked if 60 days would be enough time and he said plenty.
I summarized the conversation and the specs that were required in the equipment that he was going to receive and then set up a SALES M.A.P. (Mutually Agreed upon Process™) where we would configure the equipment and deliver it to him. I asked for his email so I could forward some detailed product specifications to him and said I would follow up with a phone call to be sure he received the email and to set up a time to drop off the equipment.
Learning to reframe situations in terms of what is important or of value to the other person combined with "If we could help you do it better, faster or less expensively" seems to make it harder for a person to say "no". Add this with being interested in what the other person is saying instead of trying to interesting by telling why you think your products are better and you have a winning combination.
REPRINT PERMISSION
Ron La Vine, MBA is president and founder of Accelerated Sales Training, Inc., a live cold call training firm located in Oak Park, CA. You can get a special report “41 sales Tips You Can Use Right Now” AND the free bimonthly Sales Tips for Selling Success eZine all by signing up at http://www.ast-incorp.com. If you would like information on Live Cold Calling Sales Training please call Ron at 818-991-6487 PST. © 2010 by Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
ANSWER BASED QUESTIONING
By Ron S. La Vine
President of Accelerated Sales Training Training, Inc.
Have you ever begun to think to yourself while you are on the phone speaking with a prospect, “What am I going to say next?”
Try this approach. Base your next question upon their answer. First, listening to what someone is saying (especially a prospect) is the polite thing to do. Secondly, this strategy will enable you to keep your mind focused upon what the other person is saying rather than trying to think ahead as to what you are going to say next.
The idea is to have a conversation like you would when you are speaking with a friend. In fact, friendship and rapport are what you are trying to achieve.
Example:
Prospect: “We love our database management system.”
Sales Rep: “What do you like about it?” (Said with genuine interest)
Prospect: “It has quick access time to our data.”
Sales Rep: “I’d like to see if I can help you. How does the access time to your data compare to the accuracy of the data being requested and received?”
In the example, “We love our database management system” provides the basis for the next question “What do you like about it?” “It has quick access time to our data” provides the basis for the next question “How does the access time to your data compare to the accuracy of the data being requested and received?”
Have you ever given a friend advice on a specific product or service that they plan to buy? What happened? Did you try to force your friend to buy it? Probably not. Why?
People do not want to be forced into what to buy and spewing forth a bunch of features hoping something you say will stick is not selling. In other words, people do not like to be sold they like to buy. Our job is to listen and find out what people want and value so we can help them buy the way they want to buy.
I will never forget an experience in class once when I was trying to coach someone who would not read my notes or listen to the prospect. The person on the other end said, “This how we buy. You send me three packets of information and I will meet with my two managers to determine when and if we should meet.
What did the rep proceed to do? “Why don’t I drop by and deliver it to you personally?” This rep was determined to get what he wanted which was a face-to-face appointment. Mr. Prospect replied, “Maybe you didn’t hear me. Send over three packages of information for review first and then we can set up a meeting.”
Again, the rep repeated, “I’ll be in the area on Monday, why don’t I drop by and give you the packets?” By this time, you can picture the steam coming out of the prospect’s ears over the phone. He said, “Either you send me the three packages of information for my managers and I to review or we don’t do business”.
At this point, it began to sink in. This is how Mr. Prospect buys. After we hung up, I asked him why you kept asking to stop by. His response was I wanted to meet him and hand the information to him personally. Apparently, he was not listening to what was being said. Instead, he was concentrating on his agenda, which was to get an appointment at any cost. Well it may have cost him the sale.
Do you remember when you had a great buying experience? I will bet you dollars to donuts that you raved about it to your friends. You probably talked about what you really enjoyed most when using that product or service or what you liked about the person who helped you buy it and then recommend your friends go see this person when they needed the products she offered.
Think for a moment or two on how you go about buying things. How do you want people to treat you? What qualities do you like in a salesperson and which qualities aggravate you?
What is the experience you think of, when you enjoyed buying a specific product or service? Remember that people do not like to be sold, they like to buy. Again, our job is to listen and find out what people want and value so we can help them buy the way they want to buy which may not necessarily be the way we want to sell. A great salesperson’s job is to deliver great sales experiences by asking questions, listening and creating a two-way conversation, not a one-way monologue.
REPRINT PERMISSION
Ron LaVine, MBA is president and founder of Accelerated Sales Training, Inc., a live cold call training firm located in Oak Park, CA. You can get a special report “41 sales Tips You Can Use Right Now” AND the free bimonthly Sales Tips for Selling Success eZine all by signing up at http://www.ast-incorp.com. If you would like information on Live Cold Calling Sales Training please call Ron at 818-991-6487.
© 2010 by Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
President of Accelerated Sales Training Training, Inc.
Have you ever begun to think to yourself while you are on the phone speaking with a prospect, “What am I going to say next?”
Try this approach. Base your next question upon their answer. First, listening to what someone is saying (especially a prospect) is the polite thing to do. Secondly, this strategy will enable you to keep your mind focused upon what the other person is saying rather than trying to think ahead as to what you are going to say next.
The idea is to have a conversation like you would when you are speaking with a friend. In fact, friendship and rapport are what you are trying to achieve.
Example:
Prospect: “We love our database management system.”
Sales Rep: “What do you like about it?” (Said with genuine interest)
Prospect: “It has quick access time to our data.”
Sales Rep: “I’d like to see if I can help you. How does the access time to your data compare to the accuracy of the data being requested and received?”
In the example, “We love our database management system” provides the basis for the next question “What do you like about it?” “It has quick access time to our data” provides the basis for the next question “How does the access time to your data compare to the accuracy of the data being requested and received?”
Have you ever given a friend advice on a specific product or service that they plan to buy? What happened? Did you try to force your friend to buy it? Probably not. Why?
People do not want to be forced into what to buy and spewing forth a bunch of features hoping something you say will stick is not selling. In other words, people do not like to be sold they like to buy. Our job is to listen and find out what people want and value so we can help them buy the way they want to buy.
I will never forget an experience in class once when I was trying to coach someone who would not read my notes or listen to the prospect. The person on the other end said, “This how we buy. You send me three packets of information and I will meet with my two managers to determine when and if we should meet.
What did the rep proceed to do? “Why don’t I drop by and deliver it to you personally?” This rep was determined to get what he wanted which was a face-to-face appointment. Mr. Prospect replied, “Maybe you didn’t hear me. Send over three packages of information for review first and then we can set up a meeting.”
Again, the rep repeated, “I’ll be in the area on Monday, why don’t I drop by and give you the packets?” By this time, you can picture the steam coming out of the prospect’s ears over the phone. He said, “Either you send me the three packages of information for my managers and I to review or we don’t do business”.
At this point, it began to sink in. This is how Mr. Prospect buys. After we hung up, I asked him why you kept asking to stop by. His response was I wanted to meet him and hand the information to him personally. Apparently, he was not listening to what was being said. Instead, he was concentrating on his agenda, which was to get an appointment at any cost. Well it may have cost him the sale.
Do you remember when you had a great buying experience? I will bet you dollars to donuts that you raved about it to your friends. You probably talked about what you really enjoyed most when using that product or service or what you liked about the person who helped you buy it and then recommend your friends go see this person when they needed the products she offered.
Think for a moment or two on how you go about buying things. How do you want people to treat you? What qualities do you like in a salesperson and which qualities aggravate you?
What is the experience you think of, when you enjoyed buying a specific product or service? Remember that people do not like to be sold, they like to buy. Again, our job is to listen and find out what people want and value so we can help them buy the way they want to buy which may not necessarily be the way we want to sell. A great salesperson’s job is to deliver great sales experiences by asking questions, listening and creating a two-way conversation, not a one-way monologue.
REPRINT PERMISSION
Ron LaVine, MBA is president and founder of Accelerated Sales Training, Inc., a live cold call training firm located in Oak Park, CA. You can get a special report “41 sales Tips You Can Use Right Now” AND the free bimonthly Sales Tips for Selling Success eZine all by signing up at http://www.ast-incorp.com. If you would like information on Live Cold Calling Sales Training please call Ron at 818-991-6487.
© 2010 by Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
A FEW SELLING DOS AND DON'TS
By Ron S. La Vine
President of Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
DO match and mirror the speed, tone and volume of the other person's voice.
DON'T speak in a monotone.
DO call for a specific reason such as to provide some information of value.
DON'T call just to check in.
DO go the prospect's web site first to see if they fit your ideal prospect profile.
DON'T randomly send out expensive (your time, material costs and postage) literature.
DO tell the truth even if you do not have the answer to a question at that moment.
DON'T try to fake like you know the answer to a question you don't.
DO ask for the business.
DON'T assume you have it until the paperwork is signed.
DO use good manners.
DON'T assume an air of familiarity.
DO speak clearly and slowly when leaving a message.
DON'T mumble your message.
DO leave your name, company name, area code and phone number twice in a row.
DON'T leave your name and phone number only once.
DO get the person's name right before speaking with them or leaving a voice mail.
DON'T mispronounce their name.
DO use direct questions or statements such as "Maybe you can help me."
DON'T use wishy-washy phrases such as Might you possibly please tell me some information?"
DO write down an assistant's name if they provide it to you.
DON'T ask for their name and put them on the defensive since they might think you are going to get them in trouble.
DO develop different forms of marketing materials such as a one page Key Benefits fax cover sheet.
DON'T rely solely upon printed literature.
DO leave a voice mail for of "What's In It for Them" compelling benefits.
DON'T leave a voice mail to see "if they might be interested in what you have."
DO listen to and concentrate on what's being said.
DON'T let your mind wander.
DO identify all the buyers and influencers.
DON'T rely solely upon one person who may leave for another job.
DO be polite yet respectfully persistent.
DON'T give up after one or two calls.
REPRINT PERMISSION
Ron La Vine, MBA is president and founder of Accelerated Sales Training, Inc., a live cold call training firm located in Oak Park, CA. You can get a special report “41 sales Tips You Can Use Right Now” AND the free bimonthly Sales Tips for Selling Success eZine all by signing up at http://www.ast-incorp.com. If you would like information on Live Cold Calling Sales Training please call Ron at 818-991-6487 PST. © 2010 by Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
President of Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
DO match and mirror the speed, tone and volume of the other person's voice.
DON'T speak in a monotone.
DO call for a specific reason such as to provide some information of value.
DON'T call just to check in.
DO go the prospect's web site first to see if they fit your ideal prospect profile.
DON'T randomly send out expensive (your time, material costs and postage) literature.
DO tell the truth even if you do not have the answer to a question at that moment.
DON'T try to fake like you know the answer to a question you don't.
DO ask for the business.
DON'T assume you have it until the paperwork is signed.
DO use good manners.
DON'T assume an air of familiarity.
DO speak clearly and slowly when leaving a message.
DON'T mumble your message.
DO leave your name, company name, area code and phone number twice in a row.
DON'T leave your name and phone number only once.
DO get the person's name right before speaking with them or leaving a voice mail.
DON'T mispronounce their name.
DO use direct questions or statements such as "Maybe you can help me."
DON'T use wishy-washy phrases such as Might you possibly please tell me some information?"
DO write down an assistant's name if they provide it to you.
DON'T ask for their name and put them on the defensive since they might think you are going to get them in trouble.
DO develop different forms of marketing materials such as a one page Key Benefits fax cover sheet.
DON'T rely solely upon printed literature.
DO leave a voice mail for of "What's In It for Them" compelling benefits.
DON'T leave a voice mail to see "if they might be interested in what you have."
DO listen to and concentrate on what's being said.
DON'T let your mind wander.
DO identify all the buyers and influencers.
DON'T rely solely upon one person who may leave for another job.
DO be polite yet respectfully persistent.
DON'T give up after one or two calls.
REPRINT PERMISSION
Ron La Vine, MBA is president and founder of Accelerated Sales Training, Inc., a live cold call training firm located in Oak Park, CA. You can get a special report “41 sales Tips You Can Use Right Now” AND the free bimonthly Sales Tips for Selling Success eZine all by signing up at http://www.ast-incorp.com. If you would like information on Live Cold Calling Sales Training please call Ron at 818-991-6487 PST. © 2010 by Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
CHARACTERISTICS OF TOP SALES EXECUTIVES
By Ron S. LaVine
President of Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
Top Sales Executives Work Smart
Top sales executives recognize their time is precious and finite. These sales representatives know their primary job is to identify and call on the most profitable accounts first. Examining their current customer base and finding the common characteristics or demographics (gross sales, number of employees, industries, etc.) top salespeople know in advance what types of accounts where they make the most money. They separate their accounts by time zone enabling them to make the best use of their phone time throughout the day.
Once prioritized and sorted, top sales executives use their sharp questioning and listening skills to reach the decision maker and determine, with reasonable certainty, whether or not a business opportunity exists within an account. When a business opportunity is found within a department, business unit, location, joint venture, affiliate, reseller or partner, these successful sales reps always remember to set up specific action steps or a sales m.a.p. (tm) (Mutually agreed upon process) with the individual or individuals who influence the buying decision. Then they politely yet persistently follow up on these action steps through completion. Knowing how valuable their time is, the most successful salespeople do only those things they cannot delegate to someone else.
Top Sales Executives Think like Business Owners
Top sales executives adopt an attitude that they are in business for themselves not in business by themselves. These top salespeople make decisions upon seeing themselves as the business owner.
Organization and Prioritization of Goals
Top sales executives recognize the importance of organizing and prioritizing their goals. These people get ahead by planning ahead. They have clearly defined lofty goals and self discipline to see them through. Top sales executives are goal getters not just goal setters.
Top Sales Executives are Persuasive Communicators
The top successful salespeople are listening for reasons to buy and for ways to sell. Sensitive to an account's time available to speak with them and enthusiastic in their presentations and these top sales reps have mastered the technique of carefully selecting words for their positive connotations.
Top Sales Executives Are Always Striving for Self-improvement
Always growing, studying, reading, attending seminars, learning all the time, their goal is movement in a positive direction. These salespeople seek out opportunities to perfect their presentations and volunteer for leadership positions so they can stretch themselves as people and professionals.
Top Sales Executives have Positive Self-esteem
Strong, balanced sense of self worth combined with confidence in themselves and a belief in what they are doing are the hallmark of a great sales rep. Enthusiasm, excitement and zeal are elements of their character.
These people do a better job and become more productive by learning, practicing, changing and developing these new habits so they are incorporated and internalized qualities in both their personal and professional life.
Conclusion
First and foremost is the right attitude. You will hear this throughout most sales workshops because the right attitude is the difference between those that give up and those who never quit. There is no silver or magic bullet. Only hard work and persistence pays off.
To become a great sales executive, one must enjoy working with people and have a strong sense of curiosity, great listening skills and the ability to see the big picture. The best sales executives are able to produce results. Pay for performance is the way they prefer to work.
A great sales executive is someone who has a working knowledge of their company's operations, products and services, and possesses the ability to collect useful business sales intelligence(tm) about their accounts and translate the information into additional sales. They are persistent and tenacious to find the answers to their questions and they keep going until they do.
David R. Bender of the Special Libraries Association sums it up well: "...how many people have the expertise to evaluate, analyze, organize and package raw data-transforming it into meaningful information that can be put to work?"
He goes on to say "...not many, and the explanation is quite simple." As management expert Peter Drucker wrote in a column for the Wall Street Journal, "There is a big difference between being computer literate and information literate."
Bender writes, "Drucker explained that for data to become useful information, it must be organized for a task or applied to a decision." He contended, however, "Few people are adept at determining exactly what information they need to do their jobs, when they need the information, and where they can get it."
A great sales executive knows what data is needed, where it can be found and how to get it and provide it in a manner enabling them to increase their sales. In striving to become the best, top sales executives focus on creating value for their clients and a sense of pride and accomplishment for themselves.
REPRINT PERMISSION
Ron LaVine, MBA is president and founder of Accelerated Sales Training, Inc., a live call sales and telesales training firm located in Oak Park, CA. You can get a special report “41 sales Tips You Can Use Right Now” AND the free bimonthly Sales Tips for Selling Success eZine all by signing up at http://www.ast-incorp.com. If you would like information on Live Call Sales and Telesales Training please call Ron at 818-991-6487 PST. © by Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
President of Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
Top Sales Executives Work Smart
Top sales executives recognize their time is precious and finite. These sales representatives know their primary job is to identify and call on the most profitable accounts first. Examining their current customer base and finding the common characteristics or demographics (gross sales, number of employees, industries, etc.) top salespeople know in advance what types of accounts where they make the most money. They separate their accounts by time zone enabling them to make the best use of their phone time throughout the day.
Once prioritized and sorted, top sales executives use their sharp questioning and listening skills to reach the decision maker and determine, with reasonable certainty, whether or not a business opportunity exists within an account. When a business opportunity is found within a department, business unit, location, joint venture, affiliate, reseller or partner, these successful sales reps always remember to set up specific action steps or a sales m.a.p. (tm) (Mutually agreed upon process) with the individual or individuals who influence the buying decision. Then they politely yet persistently follow up on these action steps through completion. Knowing how valuable their time is, the most successful salespeople do only those things they cannot delegate to someone else.
Top Sales Executives Think like Business Owners
Top sales executives adopt an attitude that they are in business for themselves not in business by themselves. These top salespeople make decisions upon seeing themselves as the business owner.
Organization and Prioritization of Goals
Top sales executives recognize the importance of organizing and prioritizing their goals. These people get ahead by planning ahead. They have clearly defined lofty goals and self discipline to see them through. Top sales executives are goal getters not just goal setters.
Top Sales Executives are Persuasive Communicators
The top successful salespeople are listening for reasons to buy and for ways to sell. Sensitive to an account's time available to speak with them and enthusiastic in their presentations and these top sales reps have mastered the technique of carefully selecting words for their positive connotations.
Top Sales Executives Are Always Striving for Self-improvement
Always growing, studying, reading, attending seminars, learning all the time, their goal is movement in a positive direction. These salespeople seek out opportunities to perfect their presentations and volunteer for leadership positions so they can stretch themselves as people and professionals.
Top Sales Executives have Positive Self-esteem
Strong, balanced sense of self worth combined with confidence in themselves and a belief in what they are doing are the hallmark of a great sales rep. Enthusiasm, excitement and zeal are elements of their character.
These people do a better job and become more productive by learning, practicing, changing and developing these new habits so they are incorporated and internalized qualities in both their personal and professional life.
Conclusion
First and foremost is the right attitude. You will hear this throughout most sales workshops because the right attitude is the difference between those that give up and those who never quit. There is no silver or magic bullet. Only hard work and persistence pays off.
To become a great sales executive, one must enjoy working with people and have a strong sense of curiosity, great listening skills and the ability to see the big picture. The best sales executives are able to produce results. Pay for performance is the way they prefer to work.
A great sales executive is someone who has a working knowledge of their company's operations, products and services, and possesses the ability to collect useful business sales intelligence(tm) about their accounts and translate the information into additional sales. They are persistent and tenacious to find the answers to their questions and they keep going until they do.
David R. Bender of the Special Libraries Association sums it up well: "...how many people have the expertise to evaluate, analyze, organize and package raw data-transforming it into meaningful information that can be put to work?"
He goes on to say "...not many, and the explanation is quite simple." As management expert Peter Drucker wrote in a column for the Wall Street Journal, "There is a big difference between being computer literate and information literate."
Bender writes, "Drucker explained that for data to become useful information, it must be organized for a task or applied to a decision." He contended, however, "Few people are adept at determining exactly what information they need to do their jobs, when they need the information, and where they can get it."
A great sales executive knows what data is needed, where it can be found and how to get it and provide it in a manner enabling them to increase their sales. In striving to become the best, top sales executives focus on creating value for their clients and a sense of pride and accomplishment for themselves.
REPRINT PERMISSION
Ron LaVine, MBA is president and founder of Accelerated Sales Training, Inc., a live call sales and telesales training firm located in Oak Park, CA. You can get a special report “41 sales Tips You Can Use Right Now” AND the free bimonthly Sales Tips for Selling Success eZine all by signing up at http://www.ast-incorp.com. If you would like information on Live Call Sales and Telesales Training please call Ron at 818-991-6487 PST. © by Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Best Practices of Successful Software Company Salespeople
A study of the best practices of successful software company salespeople, conducted by the executive search firm Spencer Stuart in conjunction with Software Magazine, has found that the most important ingredients of success are a quality product and an effective sales force. But more compelling is evidence that the long-heralded team-selling concept has taken root. The most successful companies consistently put together highly trained teams to help their customers understand the benefits of their products.
The most successful enterprise software companies focus on building relationships with executives at Fortune 500 companies, and they use a “best team” approach to partner with these companies. This teaming can take many flavors, such as inside sales working with outside sales and channel partners to drive revenues, or product specialists overlaying revenue-focused sales reps. But the bottom line is that the most successful software companies have moved away from the “lone wolf" sales rep model to an approach founded on teamwork.
While this might not seem like earth-shattering news, it does point to the need for software suppliers interested in reaching their revenue targets to focus on the quality of their products, and to invest in helping their sales forces use approaches that do not turn IT managers off. IT managers should insist that the salespeople representing their software suppliers study the best practices of their counterparts in other firms to avoid losing business by engaging in IT management “turnoffs.”
These include: not delivering on promised products, making exaggerated or outright false claims, not bringing the right skills or expertise to bear on the customer’s problems, or avoiding accountability if a product is proving difficult to implement or use. “They have got to listen to what we say,” says Nancy Bryant, ClO with First City Savings Federal Credit Union in Glendale, Calif. “Sometimes you say you’re not interested and they still want to come out and show you things.”
Bryant has had a pleasant experience recently with sales efforts of (www.dartware.com), which offers the InterMapper tool for system monitoring. When the sales operation called and asked if Bryant needed new monitoring software, she said yes, and they explained what they could do for her. When she had a question, they e-mailed her back an answer in a timely manner. Later she received a follow-up phone call. “We are going to purchase the product,” she says.
Other tips from Bryant for software company salespeople included:
> Be knowledgeable about your product, or have a technical person available who can answer questions. “You can tell if they are reading a script and have no clue,” she says.
> Avoid annoying persistence. “When they call up and I say I don’t need it, then they send me priority mail and ask me what I think of it, when I didn’t ask for it, it’s annoying,” Bryant says.
> Explain how the product will save time or money, or make the IT buyer more efficient.
The best sales forces operate as a team; quality products, good training and fair compensation help; Software Company CEOs value leadership and a good attitude “I appreciate hearing about new things. I don’t want salespeople to stop calling. I just like them to listen when I say no and be able to answer basic questions,” Bryant says.
Software Industry Challenges Salespeople
The software industry is a challenging one to sell products in, because the products are highly technical. It is often difficult for a salesperson to articulate their value to prospective customers. This is especially true when application package suppliers try to sell to business professionals with little technical background. Many software markets are crowded with competitors and extremely fragmented. The barriers to entry are low for new software companies, and large enterprises are willing to buy from startups if they make compelling cases for their products. And the best products do not always win.
The sales force facing the IT buyer has much to do with the success of the software supplier. By company size, 27% of the software companies participating in the study had revenues of more than $1 billion; 40%, over $500 million; and 33%, under $500 million. Distribution by position was 43% CEOs or general managers and the rest sales executives. Industries producing the most revenue for participating suppliers were technology and communications, financial services, industrial, consumer goods and services, energy and process, and life sciences.
Other Key Findings of the Study
The quality of first-line sales managers and sales leadership are the most critical factors contributing to the overall effectiveness of the sales force. Sales executives attached more importance to compensation than did CEOs and general managers of the software suppliers.
While channel partners are growing in importance, person-to-person direct sales is still how most enterprise software suppliers take their product to market. On pricing, management and not the sales rep makes the key decisions. The productivity of the sales organization is primarily a function of two issues: the ability to recruit the right people, and training to upgrade the knowledge of the sales force.
Also, CEOs are frustrated when their sales teams don’t call at a high enough level in their customer organizations to drive decisions. This explains why sales reps keep trying to get to the boss. Internally, software firms have worked hard to integrate their sales teams with technical support, professional services, and the senior executive team. This partnering with professional services is driven by many software firms transitioning from a product sale to a solution sale.
However, they concede that they have not built strong bridges to the engineering and product development organizations, nor to the customer service organization. Product development may not always be working closely enough with sales to get an accurate view of what customers need. And the lack of integration with the customer resource management, customer services, and sales force automation suggests that those areas have not lived up to their promise.
On Some Issues, Views of CEOs and Their Sales Execs Differ
Software CEOs and sales executives agreed on many of the determinants of success, such as the product quality, quality of the first-line sales managers, and their ability to hire and organize effective sales teams. However, they did look at some issues differently. CEOs felt more strongly that the ability of their sales teams to penetrate top level executives in their customer organizations was critical, a view not expressed as strongly by the sales executives. Conversely, those sales executives were more focused on the compensation plan, both as a tool to recruit top performers, as well as a way to motivate their teams once hired.
CEOs and sales executives agreed that the ability to create effective teams was one of the most important ways of outperforming their competitors. Equally important is their ability to field a highly technically competent field organization.
Reprinted with permission. Software Magazine Summer 2002 Issue - Page 21 – 22. Accelerated Sales Training, Inc. www.AST-incorp.com send mailto:info@AST-incorp.com.
The most successful enterprise software companies focus on building relationships with executives at Fortune 500 companies, and they use a “best team” approach to partner with these companies. This teaming can take many flavors, such as inside sales working with outside sales and channel partners to drive revenues, or product specialists overlaying revenue-focused sales reps. But the bottom line is that the most successful software companies have moved away from the “lone wolf" sales rep model to an approach founded on teamwork.
While this might not seem like earth-shattering news, it does point to the need for software suppliers interested in reaching their revenue targets to focus on the quality of their products, and to invest in helping their sales forces use approaches that do not turn IT managers off. IT managers should insist that the salespeople representing their software suppliers study the best practices of their counterparts in other firms to avoid losing business by engaging in IT management “turnoffs.”
These include: not delivering on promised products, making exaggerated or outright false claims, not bringing the right skills or expertise to bear on the customer’s problems, or avoiding accountability if a product is proving difficult to implement or use. “They have got to listen to what we say,” says Nancy Bryant, ClO with First City Savings Federal Credit Union in Glendale, Calif. “Sometimes you say you’re not interested and they still want to come out and show you things.”
Bryant has had a pleasant experience recently with sales efforts of (www.dartware.com), which offers the InterMapper tool for system monitoring. When the sales operation called and asked if Bryant needed new monitoring software, she said yes, and they explained what they could do for her. When she had a question, they e-mailed her back an answer in a timely manner. Later she received a follow-up phone call. “We are going to purchase the product,” she says.
Other tips from Bryant for software company salespeople included:
> Be knowledgeable about your product, or have a technical person available who can answer questions. “You can tell if they are reading a script and have no clue,” she says.
> Avoid annoying persistence. “When they call up and I say I don’t need it, then they send me priority mail and ask me what I think of it, when I didn’t ask for it, it’s annoying,” Bryant says.
> Explain how the product will save time or money, or make the IT buyer more efficient.
The best sales forces operate as a team; quality products, good training and fair compensation help; Software Company CEOs value leadership and a good attitude “I appreciate hearing about new things. I don’t want salespeople to stop calling. I just like them to listen when I say no and be able to answer basic questions,” Bryant says.
Software Industry Challenges Salespeople
The software industry is a challenging one to sell products in, because the products are highly technical. It is often difficult for a salesperson to articulate their value to prospective customers. This is especially true when application package suppliers try to sell to business professionals with little technical background. Many software markets are crowded with competitors and extremely fragmented. The barriers to entry are low for new software companies, and large enterprises are willing to buy from startups if they make compelling cases for their products. And the best products do not always win.
The sales force facing the IT buyer has much to do with the success of the software supplier. By company size, 27% of the software companies participating in the study had revenues of more than $1 billion; 40%, over $500 million; and 33%, under $500 million. Distribution by position was 43% CEOs or general managers and the rest sales executives. Industries producing the most revenue for participating suppliers were technology and communications, financial services, industrial, consumer goods and services, energy and process, and life sciences.
Other Key Findings of the Study
The quality of first-line sales managers and sales leadership are the most critical factors contributing to the overall effectiveness of the sales force. Sales executives attached more importance to compensation than did CEOs and general managers of the software suppliers.
While channel partners are growing in importance, person-to-person direct sales is still how most enterprise software suppliers take their product to market. On pricing, management and not the sales rep makes the key decisions. The productivity of the sales organization is primarily a function of two issues: the ability to recruit the right people, and training to upgrade the knowledge of the sales force.
Also, CEOs are frustrated when their sales teams don’t call at a high enough level in their customer organizations to drive decisions. This explains why sales reps keep trying to get to the boss. Internally, software firms have worked hard to integrate their sales teams with technical support, professional services, and the senior executive team. This partnering with professional services is driven by many software firms transitioning from a product sale to a solution sale.
However, they concede that they have not built strong bridges to the engineering and product development organizations, nor to the customer service organization. Product development may not always be working closely enough with sales to get an accurate view of what customers need. And the lack of integration with the customer resource management, customer services, and sales force automation suggests that those areas have not lived up to their promise.
On Some Issues, Views of CEOs and Their Sales Execs Differ
Software CEOs and sales executives agreed on many of the determinants of success, such as the product quality, quality of the first-line sales managers, and their ability to hire and organize effective sales teams. However, they did look at some issues differently. CEOs felt more strongly that the ability of their sales teams to penetrate top level executives in their customer organizations was critical, a view not expressed as strongly by the sales executives. Conversely, those sales executives were more focused on the compensation plan, both as a tool to recruit top performers, as well as a way to motivate their teams once hired.
CEOs and sales executives agreed that the ability to create effective teams was one of the most important ways of outperforming their competitors. Equally important is their ability to field a highly technically competent field organization.
Reprinted with permission. Software Magazine Summer 2002 Issue - Page 21 – 22. Accelerated Sales Training, Inc. www.AST-incorp.com send mailto:info@AST-incorp.com.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
11 Actions Sales Reps Should Avoid
By Ron S. LaVine, MBA, President
Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
Cold Calling System for Success – Live Phone Sales Call Training
01. Sales reps should avoid talking too much and listening too little. Using close-ended questions, which tend to kill a conversation with a yes or no answer instead of open-ended questions that extend a conversation because they cannot be easily answered with a yes or no.
02. Sales reps should avoid not getting people to commit to a yes or no decision rather than a perhaps or a maybe. Get rid of the prospects that keep dragging their feet. Simply ask, "Is there still an interest in [your product or service]? If yes, what's the next step?" The sooner you know the quicker you can invest your time in those prospects who have an interest and are willing to take action or "move forward".
03. Sales reps should avoid forgetting to ask permission to speak or lack respect for the other person's time. An executive's time is one of their most limited and valuable assets. If it is not respected you will quickly find yourself disconnected. Would you want to speak with someone if you were in the middle of an important meeting? No. So remember a little common courtesy goes a long way. ALWAYS ask permission to speak. I happen to like "Is this a good time to speak?" or "Do you have a minute?"
04. Sales reps should avoid asking too many questions in a row. Too many questions in a row are frustrating because the prospect doesn't know which question to answer first and the conversation becomes confusing real fast. Remember one question at a time, then STOP! You'll have plenty of time to ask more questions and the prospect won't be defensive since they are unable to answer multiple questions at once.
05. Sales reps should avoid talking over other the prospect's answer to a question or interrupting while the prospect is speaking. Since most if not all of us like to hear ourselves speak, it takes tremendous discipline to remain silent until someone has finished what they have to say. What if the part of the answer that you spoke over was a crucial piece of information? You'll never know, will you?
06. Sales reps should avoid calling on the wrong people who have no authority to buy. Many reps would rather spend their limited selling time calling upon lower level people who, while they maybe good sources of information, they lack the authority to buy. These people can stymie the sales process by saying don't go above me and don't go below me. I am the only person you need to speak with. What happens then? You become in the "let's talk some more and more or show me more and more" position. This type of scenario will drag your sales process to a halt.
07. Sales reps should avoid speaking too fast, too slow, in a monotone or without enthusiasm or conviction. People buy from people they know, like and trust and trust means similar to them. Learn to match and mirror the rate of speed, tone and the volume of the prospect's voice. Listening to a person's voice mail often provides a clue as to what type of speaker they are. If they speak fast, speed up. If they speak slowly, then slow done. The same applies to louder and softer. As for tone, learn to move your voice up and down and enunciate clearly.
08. Sales reps should avoid pitching. Pitching is for baseball games not selling. Pitching implies something will be caught yet not necessarily the "right thing or solution". A good salesperson never needs to pitch since by asking the right questions and listening they know what the prospect wants resented to them and the close becomes a natural conclusion.
09. Sales reps should avoid leaving their phone number only once and speaking too fast when they leave a voice mail. This means the prospect has to play the message over and over again when it is much easy to just erase it. Make it easy for people to do business with you. SLOW DOWN when you leave a message and leave your phone number twice in a row. The first time you leave your number gives the prospect time to find a pen and the second gives them time to write down the number.
10. Sales reps should avoid forgetting to make eye contact. In Nicholas Boothman's book, How to Connect in Business in 90 Seconds (Workman Publishing $16.95) he claims people make "like/don't like" decisions within the first 90 seconds of meeting someone. This means you must be able to win someone over fast. For you field reps it is a known fact that looking people directly in the eyes establishes you as trustworthy and open. Practice making a mental note of each person's eye color and you'll automatically look each person you meet right in the eye.
11. Sales reps should avoid making selling too complicated. Often it is better to be reminded and return to the basics above rather than to continue behavior, which should be avoided, if you want to be successful in sales.
Make it a great day and a successful week!
Ron
Call 1-818-991-6487 for a free sales training or telesales training needs analysis.
Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
Cold Calling System for Success – Live Phone Sales Call Training
01. Sales reps should avoid talking too much and listening too little. Using close-ended questions, which tend to kill a conversation with a yes or no answer instead of open-ended questions that extend a conversation because they cannot be easily answered with a yes or no.
02. Sales reps should avoid not getting people to commit to a yes or no decision rather than a perhaps or a maybe. Get rid of the prospects that keep dragging their feet. Simply ask, "Is there still an interest in [your product or service]? If yes, what's the next step?" The sooner you know the quicker you can invest your time in those prospects who have an interest and are willing to take action or "move forward".
03. Sales reps should avoid forgetting to ask permission to speak or lack respect for the other person's time. An executive's time is one of their most limited and valuable assets. If it is not respected you will quickly find yourself disconnected. Would you want to speak with someone if you were in the middle of an important meeting? No. So remember a little common courtesy goes a long way. ALWAYS ask permission to speak. I happen to like "Is this a good time to speak?" or "Do you have a minute?"
04. Sales reps should avoid asking too many questions in a row. Too many questions in a row are frustrating because the prospect doesn't know which question to answer first and the conversation becomes confusing real fast. Remember one question at a time, then STOP! You'll have plenty of time to ask more questions and the prospect won't be defensive since they are unable to answer multiple questions at once.
05. Sales reps should avoid talking over other the prospect's answer to a question or interrupting while the prospect is speaking. Since most if not all of us like to hear ourselves speak, it takes tremendous discipline to remain silent until someone has finished what they have to say. What if the part of the answer that you spoke over was a crucial piece of information? You'll never know, will you?
06. Sales reps should avoid calling on the wrong people who have no authority to buy. Many reps would rather spend their limited selling time calling upon lower level people who, while they maybe good sources of information, they lack the authority to buy. These people can stymie the sales process by saying don't go above me and don't go below me. I am the only person you need to speak with. What happens then? You become in the "let's talk some more and more or show me more and more" position. This type of scenario will drag your sales process to a halt.
07. Sales reps should avoid speaking too fast, too slow, in a monotone or without enthusiasm or conviction. People buy from people they know, like and trust and trust means similar to them. Learn to match and mirror the rate of speed, tone and the volume of the prospect's voice. Listening to a person's voice mail often provides a clue as to what type of speaker they are. If they speak fast, speed up. If they speak slowly, then slow done. The same applies to louder and softer. As for tone, learn to move your voice up and down and enunciate clearly.
08. Sales reps should avoid pitching. Pitching is for baseball games not selling. Pitching implies something will be caught yet not necessarily the "right thing or solution". A good salesperson never needs to pitch since by asking the right questions and listening they know what the prospect wants resented to them and the close becomes a natural conclusion.
09. Sales reps should avoid leaving their phone number only once and speaking too fast when they leave a voice mail. This means the prospect has to play the message over and over again when it is much easy to just erase it. Make it easy for people to do business with you. SLOW DOWN when you leave a message and leave your phone number twice in a row. The first time you leave your number gives the prospect time to find a pen and the second gives them time to write down the number.
10. Sales reps should avoid forgetting to make eye contact. In Nicholas Boothman's book, How to Connect in Business in 90 Seconds (Workman Publishing $16.95) he claims people make "like/don't like" decisions within the first 90 seconds of meeting someone. This means you must be able to win someone over fast. For you field reps it is a known fact that looking people directly in the eyes establishes you as trustworthy and open. Practice making a mental note of each person's eye color and you'll automatically look each person you meet right in the eye.
11. Sales reps should avoid making selling too complicated. Often it is better to be reminded and return to the basics above rather than to continue behavior, which should be avoided, if you want to be successful in sales.
Make it a great day and a successful week!
Ron
Call 1-818-991-6487 for a free sales training or telesales training needs analysis.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
How to Sell in Any Type of Market
I came across an article in the Investor's Business Daily
about Selling in a Down Market and I think it applies to
selling in any type of market. My summary of the main
points is below.
According to Cord Cooper's article, sales management has a
choice in how to handle selling in a down market. He then goes
on to give strategies for properly preparing your sales force.
Make your salespeople your first market. They must be sold
on what they are selling if clients are to be sold too.
Think benefits.
A few of the questions in this section were:
"What is the minimum return our clients need from our
products or services?"
"How can we out do that by 50% to 100%?"
"What has been the client's experience with the
competition?"
"What sets us apart?" or
"What is our unique selling proposition or specialization?"
Suggestion:
Take some time during a sales meeting to discuss these
questions, take notes of the answers, put them in an email
and distribute them electronically via email so they can be
modified and expanded by people throughout your company.
You could be surprised at who comes up with unique ways to
help a customer or make it easier for them to do business
with your company.
Set service standards.
Define what the best type of customer service is and then
measure and deliver it.
Sell your track record.
Get permission to use specific client's names and
documented numerical results to increase your credibility.
Nail it down.
Don't assume the customer has a clear understanding of the
details. Be sure to go over information and especially
contracts in detail.
Work back-to-front.
If your start with a prospect's budget and vision it is
easier to work backward and demonstrate how your product
or service will fit their requirements.
Bridge the gaps.
Specify the results you want from your sales force, compare
them to the current situation, and then center your
strategy to bridge the gaps.
Don't promise more than your organization can deliver.
Promising and not delivering is as bad as hearing
complaints and ignoring them.
Use prospects' names as marketing tools.
Create a seating chart in front of you and take note of
their names. Use their names during a presentation to gain
attention, control conversations and underscore points.
Realize that past successes don't cut future deals.
Track client's post sales shifting priorities and work them
into renewal contracts.
Put the customer in charge.
Adapt your company policies to meet the customer's needs.
The bottom line.
Let your customers be in charge by letting their needs
drive your strategy. It worked for Sam Walton the founder
of Wal-Mart and it will work for you too.
--
Make it a great day and a successful week!
Ron S. La Vine, MBA, President and CEO
Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
Helping you Get Into New and Existing Accounts and Get New Business™
http://www.ast-incorp.com
Complementary Sales Tips
http://www.ast-incorp.com/free.htm
Join me at LinkedIn
http://www.linkedin.com/in/ronlavine
Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
638 Lindero Canyon Road, Suite 283
Oak Park, CA 91377
818-519-3852 Mobile
818-991-5938 Fax
mailto:rslavine@ast-incorp.com
about Selling in a Down Market and I think it applies to
selling in any type of market. My summary of the main
points is below.
According to Cord Cooper's article, sales management has a
choice in how to handle selling in a down market. He then goes
on to give strategies for properly preparing your sales force.
Make your salespeople your first market. They must be sold
on what they are selling if clients are to be sold too.
Think benefits.
A few of the questions in this section were:
"What is the minimum return our clients need from our
products or services?"
"How can we out do that by 50% to 100%?"
"What has been the client's experience with the
competition?"
"What sets us apart?" or
"What is our unique selling proposition or specialization?"
Suggestion:
Take some time during a sales meeting to discuss these
questions, take notes of the answers, put them in an email
and distribute them electronically via email so they can be
modified and expanded by people throughout your company.
You could be surprised at who comes up with unique ways to
help a customer or make it easier for them to do business
with your company.
Set service standards.
Define what the best type of customer service is and then
measure and deliver it.
Sell your track record.
Get permission to use specific client's names and
documented numerical results to increase your credibility.
Nail it down.
Don't assume the customer has a clear understanding of the
details. Be sure to go over information and especially
contracts in detail.
Work back-to-front.
If your start with a prospect's budget and vision it is
easier to work backward and demonstrate how your product
or service will fit their requirements.
Bridge the gaps.
Specify the results you want from your sales force, compare
them to the current situation, and then center your
strategy to bridge the gaps.
Don't promise more than your organization can deliver.
Promising and not delivering is as bad as hearing
complaints and ignoring them.
Use prospects' names as marketing tools.
Create a seating chart in front of you and take note of
their names. Use their names during a presentation to gain
attention, control conversations and underscore points.
Realize that past successes don't cut future deals.
Track client's post sales shifting priorities and work them
into renewal contracts.
Put the customer in charge.
Adapt your company policies to meet the customer's needs.
The bottom line.
Let your customers be in charge by letting their needs
drive your strategy. It worked for Sam Walton the founder
of Wal-Mart and it will work for you too.
--
Make it a great day and a successful week!
Ron S. La Vine, MBA, President and CEO
Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
Helping you Get Into New and Existing Accounts and Get New Business™
http://www.ast-incorp.com
Complementary Sales Tips
http://www.ast-incorp.com/free.htm
Join me at LinkedIn
http://www.linkedin.com/in/ronlavine
Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
638 Lindero Canyon Road, Suite 283
Oak Park, CA 91377
818-519-3852 Mobile
818-991-5938 Fax
mailto:rslavine@ast-incorp.com
Friday, October 1, 2010
How To Use the Six Laws of Persuasion during a Negotiation
How To Use the Six Laws of Persuasion during a Negotiation
By Edrie Greer, Ph.D.,
Global Knowledge Instructor
Introduction
To get what you want in life, in work, and in play, requires constant negotiation with a variety of people. This involves basic communication skills, such as active listening and attention to non-verbal cues, and a clear understanding of your goals, as well as the objectives of your negotiating partner(s). To be truly effective, however, you need to know more. You should be able to communicate persuasively during the process of negotiation. Many situations you'll face as IT managers and employees will require you to effectively negotiate to a mutually beneficial (win-win) solution, including:
1. Responding to staff members' requests for promotions, salary increases, and other employment perks (as well as negotiating your own)
2. Negotiating with vendors for their best possible products, services, and prices
3. Convincing your team to do what you would like them to do
4. Working with external and internal clients on contracts (such as Service Level Agreements) that provide the quality services and equipment they need but in a manner that allows you to use your resources optimally
5. Persuading supervisors to buy additional equipment, accept your budget proposals, try a new idea, etc. In order to be successful in these instances, you must master the persuasion process, which will enable you to deliberately create the attitude change and subsequent actions necessary for persuading others to your way of thinking. In other words, you have to be able to "sell" your ideas in order to make changes in your favor and, in a win-win situation, provide the other side with a fair deal. This entails a process that can appeal to the intellect using logical and objective criteria, as well as a methodology that positively engages the emotions of the negotiators. The result of a successful negotiation is that all parties should believe they got a good deal.
The Six Laws of Persuasion: an Overview
Persuasion is the ability to influence people's thoughts and actions through specific strategies. To become adept at this skill, you must first understand some basic principles, called the Laws of Persuasion. These six laws by themselves are neither good nor bad, but describe how most people respond to certain circumstances.
Psychologist Robert Cialdini wrote the seminal book on the Laws of Persuasion, titled Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, in which he discusses the prevalent methods of marketing. Even though you may not wish to believe it, a great deal of psychological research indicates that human beings are quite predictable in terms of behavior in response to certain stimuli, such as ads. This is why marketing and advertising are highly successful enterprises-by and large, consumers respond to most ads and commercials by buying the products and services they promote. By understanding persuasion laws, you can control how much others unduly influence you, as well as how to use them to your benefit during negotiations.
How To Use the Six Laws of Persuasion during a Negotiation
The laws work because they provide shortcuts to making the countless decisions people face every day as they look for information to reduce the complexity of life. If you can apply these laws in specific situations to your benefit, then your influence over others increases significantly. Some of the best masters of the art of persuasion in negotiation are highly successful salespeople who do their best not only to make the sale, but also to meet the needs of their buyers.
Here are Cialdini's Six Laws of Persuasion:
Law of Reciprocity
Human beings, in general, try to repay in kind what another person has provided to them. If someone gives you something you want (or perhaps didn't "realize" you wanted), then you will wish to reciprocate because you now feel obligated. Examples of this Law include the address labels you receive in the mail from various non-profits requesting charitable contributions. Even though they are a minor, unsolicited gift, sending them has increased contributions for non-profits many-fold, because people feel compelled to return the favor. Giving free samples to potential customers is another way in which this Law is used by successful salespeople.
Law of Commitment and Consistency
People like to be (or at least appear to be) consistent in their thoughts, feelings, and actions. Once they have made a stand, they tend to stick to it and behave in ways that justify their earlier decisions, even if they are erroneous. If you make a commitment to a cause or product, however small, it then becomes easier to be convinced to increase it. This is especially true if the commitment changes your view of yourself in a favorable way. This is why salespersons attempt to get customers to agree with them multiple times. After saying yes so often, it is almost impossible to say no when it comes time for the close or direct request for the sale.
Law of Liking
When you like someone, or believe that they are "just like you," you are more inclined to want to please them and, therefore, purchase whatever they are selling. This is how successful salespeople operate; they establish rapport by demonstrating how similar they are to their potential buyers. For example, they note that they are from a comparable background as you, or even better, they are people you know-your friends. As for those in-home sales parties, the kicker comes when your neighbors provide the testimonials for the product. You don't want to disappoint them by not purchasing, do you?
Law of Scarcity
If you are not sure you want to buy something, the minute it becomes "the last one available" you tend to have second thoughts. After all, this must indicate that others are purchasing it, and you might not be able to get another one quickly, or at all, if you decide you want it later. So you take the bait to buy a popular item that others won't be able to get. At least that's what you think.
Law of Authority
This is the law that uses celebrity endorsements or "expert" testimonials. When people you admire promote a product or service, if it's good enough for them, then it's good enough for you. And if you use it, then you might even develop similar characteristics to your heroes, such as good looks, wealth, or fame. That's what the advertisers are counting on.
Law of Social Proof
Why have TV sitcoms used canned laugh tracks for years? Producers wouldn't employ them unless they actually are successful in eliciting audience laughter and, subsequently, higher ratings. Part of the reason you laugh along anyway in spite of your annoyance lies in how you decide what is socially "correct" behavior. If you don't know exactly what to do, you rely on others around you (or the virtual TV audience) to help you find the way to properly react. You think if others are engaging in a specific behavior, it must be the proper thing to do. Hence, you laugh in spite of yourself, or if you're told that "everyone is buying this product or service," even without evidence, you may think you're missing out if you don't comply or conform and get it for yourself.
Using the Laws of Persuasion
As mentioned, in any negotiation, all parties should arrive at a conclusion that makes them feel like they got a good deal, especially if an on-going relationship is involved. (Note: a "good deal" is not always the same for everyone; negotiators often have different criteria by which they judge the success of their bargaining outcomes.)
Often when dealing with "tough" or "hard" negotiators, you encounter manipulative tactics that use the preceding Laws of Persuasion. So how do you successfully negotiate around these ploys? First, you can discuss the rules of the game. When you recognize that the other side is using one or more of the Laws of Persuasion, you can either directly note it, or simply steer the conversation to a more objective solution. And for the ultimate in law prevention, you can set preconditions ahead of time that will preclude such strategies by using only logical principles as a standard process in the negotiation.
Negotiation strategies using the Six Laws of Persuasion include the following:
Law of Reciprocity
Limited disclosure/confession of the real reason for a negotiation stance, such as "this is all the money we have," can provoke a concession from the other party. (This is often seen in salary/promotion negotiations.) Concessions in general follow this "tit-for-tat" rule (the lower the "value" of the concession on your part, of course, the better). You can also use this law to appeal to fairness. For example, if the other party manipulates the physical environment by requiring that your team sits facing the sun, at the next meeting they should reciprocate.
Law of Commitment and Consistency
An example of this tactic would be using a series of questions to conduct the step-by-step close. Dale Carnegie, in How to Win Friends and Influence People, called this, "Get the other person saying 'yes, yes' immediately." This occurs when one party asks the other side to make a number of "small" decisions that lead to only one obvious conclusion: to accept the general concession. You could employ this principle by asking a potential client if she values quality in your product or service. Of course the only answer would be "yes." Then you could follow with a question that begs the obvious: "We'd love to provide you with this product/service, but if we don't get the resources we need from you (i. e. sufficient money) and quality suffers as a result, would you still want it?" How can the prospect say "yes" to poor quality? This tactic makes it easier for you to ask for additional funds.
You might also see an example of this ploy when lowballing (intentional last-minute additions to what was originally a low price) occurs. Unscrupulous vendors might attempt to make you psychologically "invest" in a product that you initially believe costs less.
Law of Liking
This law is often seen in the strategy of "good cop, bad cop," where one person in the other negotiating party is clearly opposed to your objectives, but it appears that another of their team members is "on your side." This causes you to identify with and trust the "good" team member, so you may find yourself agreeing to the other team's concessions and goals instead of your own. You can see this in situations where a salesperson "battles" their supervisor to get you a "better" deal (of course this was the result they wanted in the first place). You might also apply this law to establish rapport up front when you are negotiating with your own superiors or teams.
Law of Scarcity
The more time you spend with a salesperson, the more commitment he or she has to make the deal. If you are under no time pressure and the other side is, you have the upper hand.
Law of Authority
Vendors often quote vague authorities to sell their wares, "Experts say our product is the best." But who are these experts? What are their qualifications to make these claims? Do they have a vested interest in selling the company's products or services? In addition, use this Law to establish your own credentials/credibility early in the negotiation.
Law of Social Proof
This law works when you draw on testimonials from satisfied customers or clients (unscripted ones are best) to encourage new prospects to buy your services and products. The law also can be used to convince your supervisors or staff that their counterparts in other divisions or companies are following similar suggestions to yours. People want to feel like they are part of an established community that already knows where it is going.
Ethical Issues
Persuasion can be used for good or ill. In an environment that seeks to follow ethical rules, it should only be used to make lives better. Manipulation occurs when you exploit or deceive others solely for your own gain. This does not result in a win-win situation.
Summary
Being adept at persuasion is often the missing key to success in the workplace and your personal life. If you give people what they want via the Six Laws of Persuasion, they'll most likely return the favor. And when you recognize that you are being manipulated, you can call the other side on their tactics and counter with an appropriate strategy. This will lead to a more effective way of achieving the goals of all negotiating parties.
Learn More
Learn more about how you can improve productivity, enhance efficiency, and sharpen your competitive edge. Check out the following Global Knowledge course: Communication and Negotiation Skills. For more information or to register, visit http://www.globalknowledge.com/
or call 1-866-925-7765.
About the Author
Dr. Edrie Greer is President of Learning, ETC, Inc., which provides Educational, Training, and Communications services to organizations. She brings more than 20 years of experience in adult education, instructional design, educational technology, instructor development, and media production to her work. Dr. Greer holds a Ph. D. in the Sociology of Religion from the New Thought Theological Seminary, a Master of Science in Continuing and Vocational Education and a Bachelor of Science in Life Sciences Communication from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Sources
Carnegie, Dale. How to Win Friends and Influence People. New York: Pocket Books, 1936. Cialdini, Robert B. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. New York: William Morrow, 1993. Fisher, Roger and William Ury. Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In. New York: Penguin, 2003. Hogan, Kevin. The Psychology of Persuasion: How to Persuade Others to Your Way of Thinking. Gretna, LA: Pelican, 1996.
Hope you found this informative, see you next time.
Until then. . .
Make it a great day and a successful week!
Ron
--
Make it a great day and a successful week!
Ron S. La Vine, MBA, President and CEO
Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
Helping you Get Into New and Existing Accounts and Get New Business™
http://www.ast-incorp.com
Complementary Sales Tips
http://www.ast-incorp.com/free.htm
Join me at LinkedIn
http://www.linkedin.com/in/ronlavine
Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
638 Lindero Canyon Road, Suite 283
Oak Park, CA 91377
818-519-3852 Mobile
818-991-5938 Fax
mailto:rslavine@ast-incorp.com
By Edrie Greer, Ph.D.,
Global Knowledge Instructor
Introduction
To get what you want in life, in work, and in play, requires constant negotiation with a variety of people. This involves basic communication skills, such as active listening and attention to non-verbal cues, and a clear understanding of your goals, as well as the objectives of your negotiating partner(s). To be truly effective, however, you need to know more. You should be able to communicate persuasively during the process of negotiation. Many situations you'll face as IT managers and employees will require you to effectively negotiate to a mutually beneficial (win-win) solution, including:
1. Responding to staff members' requests for promotions, salary increases, and other employment perks (as well as negotiating your own)
2. Negotiating with vendors for their best possible products, services, and prices
3. Convincing your team to do what you would like them to do
4. Working with external and internal clients on contracts (such as Service Level Agreements) that provide the quality services and equipment they need but in a manner that allows you to use your resources optimally
5. Persuading supervisors to buy additional equipment, accept your budget proposals, try a new idea, etc. In order to be successful in these instances, you must master the persuasion process, which will enable you to deliberately create the attitude change and subsequent actions necessary for persuading others to your way of thinking. In other words, you have to be able to "sell" your ideas in order to make changes in your favor and, in a win-win situation, provide the other side with a fair deal. This entails a process that can appeal to the intellect using logical and objective criteria, as well as a methodology that positively engages the emotions of the negotiators. The result of a successful negotiation is that all parties should believe they got a good deal.
The Six Laws of Persuasion: an Overview
Persuasion is the ability to influence people's thoughts and actions through specific strategies. To become adept at this skill, you must first understand some basic principles, called the Laws of Persuasion. These six laws by themselves are neither good nor bad, but describe how most people respond to certain circumstances.
Psychologist Robert Cialdini wrote the seminal book on the Laws of Persuasion, titled Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, in which he discusses the prevalent methods of marketing. Even though you may not wish to believe it, a great deal of psychological research indicates that human beings are quite predictable in terms of behavior in response to certain stimuli, such as ads. This is why marketing and advertising are highly successful enterprises-by and large, consumers respond to most ads and commercials by buying the products and services they promote. By understanding persuasion laws, you can control how much others unduly influence you, as well as how to use them to your benefit during negotiations.
How To Use the Six Laws of Persuasion during a Negotiation
The laws work because they provide shortcuts to making the countless decisions people face every day as they look for information to reduce the complexity of life. If you can apply these laws in specific situations to your benefit, then your influence over others increases significantly. Some of the best masters of the art of persuasion in negotiation are highly successful salespeople who do their best not only to make the sale, but also to meet the needs of their buyers.
Here are Cialdini's Six Laws of Persuasion:
Law of Reciprocity
Human beings, in general, try to repay in kind what another person has provided to them. If someone gives you something you want (or perhaps didn't "realize" you wanted), then you will wish to reciprocate because you now feel obligated. Examples of this Law include the address labels you receive in the mail from various non-profits requesting charitable contributions. Even though they are a minor, unsolicited gift, sending them has increased contributions for non-profits many-fold, because people feel compelled to return the favor. Giving free samples to potential customers is another way in which this Law is used by successful salespeople.
Law of Commitment and Consistency
People like to be (or at least appear to be) consistent in their thoughts, feelings, and actions. Once they have made a stand, they tend to stick to it and behave in ways that justify their earlier decisions, even if they are erroneous. If you make a commitment to a cause or product, however small, it then becomes easier to be convinced to increase it. This is especially true if the commitment changes your view of yourself in a favorable way. This is why salespersons attempt to get customers to agree with them multiple times. After saying yes so often, it is almost impossible to say no when it comes time for the close or direct request for the sale.
Law of Liking
When you like someone, or believe that they are "just like you," you are more inclined to want to please them and, therefore, purchase whatever they are selling. This is how successful salespeople operate; they establish rapport by demonstrating how similar they are to their potential buyers. For example, they note that they are from a comparable background as you, or even better, they are people you know-your friends. As for those in-home sales parties, the kicker comes when your neighbors provide the testimonials for the product. You don't want to disappoint them by not purchasing, do you?
Law of Scarcity
If you are not sure you want to buy something, the minute it becomes "the last one available" you tend to have second thoughts. After all, this must indicate that others are purchasing it, and you might not be able to get another one quickly, or at all, if you decide you want it later. So you take the bait to buy a popular item that others won't be able to get. At least that's what you think.
Law of Authority
This is the law that uses celebrity endorsements or "expert" testimonials. When people you admire promote a product or service, if it's good enough for them, then it's good enough for you. And if you use it, then you might even develop similar characteristics to your heroes, such as good looks, wealth, or fame. That's what the advertisers are counting on.
Law of Social Proof
Why have TV sitcoms used canned laugh tracks for years? Producers wouldn't employ them unless they actually are successful in eliciting audience laughter and, subsequently, higher ratings. Part of the reason you laugh along anyway in spite of your annoyance lies in how you decide what is socially "correct" behavior. If you don't know exactly what to do, you rely on others around you (or the virtual TV audience) to help you find the way to properly react. You think if others are engaging in a specific behavior, it must be the proper thing to do. Hence, you laugh in spite of yourself, or if you're told that "everyone is buying this product or service," even without evidence, you may think you're missing out if you don't comply or conform and get it for yourself.
Using the Laws of Persuasion
As mentioned, in any negotiation, all parties should arrive at a conclusion that makes them feel like they got a good deal, especially if an on-going relationship is involved. (Note: a "good deal" is not always the same for everyone; negotiators often have different criteria by which they judge the success of their bargaining outcomes.)
Often when dealing with "tough" or "hard" negotiators, you encounter manipulative tactics that use the preceding Laws of Persuasion. So how do you successfully negotiate around these ploys? First, you can discuss the rules of the game. When you recognize that the other side is using one or more of the Laws of Persuasion, you can either directly note it, or simply steer the conversation to a more objective solution. And for the ultimate in law prevention, you can set preconditions ahead of time that will preclude such strategies by using only logical principles as a standard process in the negotiation.
Negotiation strategies using the Six Laws of Persuasion include the following:
Law of Reciprocity
Limited disclosure/confession of the real reason for a negotiation stance, such as "this is all the money we have," can provoke a concession from the other party. (This is often seen in salary/promotion negotiations.) Concessions in general follow this "tit-for-tat" rule (the lower the "value" of the concession on your part, of course, the better). You can also use this law to appeal to fairness. For example, if the other party manipulates the physical environment by requiring that your team sits facing the sun, at the next meeting they should reciprocate.
Law of Commitment and Consistency
An example of this tactic would be using a series of questions to conduct the step-by-step close. Dale Carnegie, in How to Win Friends and Influence People, called this, "Get the other person saying 'yes, yes' immediately." This occurs when one party asks the other side to make a number of "small" decisions that lead to only one obvious conclusion: to accept the general concession. You could employ this principle by asking a potential client if she values quality in your product or service. Of course the only answer would be "yes." Then you could follow with a question that begs the obvious: "We'd love to provide you with this product/service, but if we don't get the resources we need from you (i. e. sufficient money) and quality suffers as a result, would you still want it?" How can the prospect say "yes" to poor quality? This tactic makes it easier for you to ask for additional funds.
You might also see an example of this ploy when lowballing (intentional last-minute additions to what was originally a low price) occurs. Unscrupulous vendors might attempt to make you psychologically "invest" in a product that you initially believe costs less.
Law of Liking
This law is often seen in the strategy of "good cop, bad cop," where one person in the other negotiating party is clearly opposed to your objectives, but it appears that another of their team members is "on your side." This causes you to identify with and trust the "good" team member, so you may find yourself agreeing to the other team's concessions and goals instead of your own. You can see this in situations where a salesperson "battles" their supervisor to get you a "better" deal (of course this was the result they wanted in the first place). You might also apply this law to establish rapport up front when you are negotiating with your own superiors or teams.
Law of Scarcity
The more time you spend with a salesperson, the more commitment he or she has to make the deal. If you are under no time pressure and the other side is, you have the upper hand.
Law of Authority
Vendors often quote vague authorities to sell their wares, "Experts say our product is the best." But who are these experts? What are their qualifications to make these claims? Do they have a vested interest in selling the company's products or services? In addition, use this Law to establish your own credentials/credibility early in the negotiation.
Law of Social Proof
This law works when you draw on testimonials from satisfied customers or clients (unscripted ones are best) to encourage new prospects to buy your services and products. The law also can be used to convince your supervisors or staff that their counterparts in other divisions or companies are following similar suggestions to yours. People want to feel like they are part of an established community that already knows where it is going.
Ethical Issues
Persuasion can be used for good or ill. In an environment that seeks to follow ethical rules, it should only be used to make lives better. Manipulation occurs when you exploit or deceive others solely for your own gain. This does not result in a win-win situation.
Summary
Being adept at persuasion is often the missing key to success in the workplace and your personal life. If you give people what they want via the Six Laws of Persuasion, they'll most likely return the favor. And when you recognize that you are being manipulated, you can call the other side on their tactics and counter with an appropriate strategy. This will lead to a more effective way of achieving the goals of all negotiating parties.
Learn More
Learn more about how you can improve productivity, enhance efficiency, and sharpen your competitive edge. Check out the following Global Knowledge course: Communication and Negotiation Skills. For more information or to register, visit http://www.globalknowledge.com/
or call 1-866-925-7765.
About the Author
Dr. Edrie Greer is President of Learning, ETC, Inc., which provides Educational, Training, and Communications services to organizations. She brings more than 20 years of experience in adult education, instructional design, educational technology, instructor development, and media production to her work. Dr. Greer holds a Ph. D. in the Sociology of Religion from the New Thought Theological Seminary, a Master of Science in Continuing and Vocational Education and a Bachelor of Science in Life Sciences Communication from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Sources
Carnegie, Dale. How to Win Friends and Influence People. New York: Pocket Books, 1936. Cialdini, Robert B. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. New York: William Morrow, 1993. Fisher, Roger and William Ury. Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In. New York: Penguin, 2003. Hogan, Kevin. The Psychology of Persuasion: How to Persuade Others to Your Way of Thinking. Gretna, LA: Pelican, 1996.
Hope you found this informative, see you next time.
Until then. . .
Make it a great day and a successful week!
Ron
--
Make it a great day and a successful week!
Ron S. La Vine, MBA, President and CEO
Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
Helping you Get Into New and Existing Accounts and Get New Business™
http://www.ast-incorp.com
Complementary Sales Tips
http://www.ast-incorp.com/free.htm
Join me at LinkedIn
http://www.linkedin.com/in/ronlavine
Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
638 Lindero Canyon Road, Suite 283
Oak Park, CA 91377
818-519-3852 Mobile
818-991-5938 Fax
mailto:rslavine@ast-incorp.com
Friday, September 17, 2010
What is their problem?
By Ron S. La Vine
President of Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
Sales professionals depend on knowing how to ask the right questions to discover the real needs of our clients. Often our clients tell us what they would like us to do, such as, "I need a solution on change management," but without telling us the ultimate result they want to achieve.
To be truly effective we must be able to help our clients articulate the cause of the problem and to be able to identify what would be different if the solution is successful. Armed with this additional information we can then design the most effective solution for the problem at hand.
So what are some examples of questions and statements you can use to open up the prospect to discussing their problems.
Help me understand. How do you measure your key performance indicators?
I would like to learn a little more about. What do you do when that happens?
Where do you find are the bottlenecks?
How high is the absentee rate?
What are the biggest challenges you are currently facing?
What are your top priorities over the next three months?
Tell me more about that…
Give me an idea how you currently process that specific type of data?
(Continued Below)
Accelerated Sales Training enables companies such as yours to:
◦Break into new accounts
◦Reach decision-makers
◦Identify and Qualify opportunities
◦Meet and exceed sales quotas
◦Shorten sales cycles
Examples of Key Results Produced
•Tripled call center lead generation performance while the Inside Sales group doubled its results in setting qualified appointments.
•Added 74 new customers in one quarter.
•Increased sales from $695 million to $1.1 billion over a 5 year period.
•Boosted sales by 19.3% quarterly and increased profit before taxes by 24% for the past fiscal year.
•Completed a $2.8 million in new license revenue at a major insurance company.
•Closed a $208,000 deal that paid for the entire prospecting program.
•Identified over $61 million in software revenues from 1989 to 1997.
Ron S. La Vine, MBA is president and founder of Accelerated Sales Training, Inc., a LIVE cold call/new business development sales training firm located in Oak Park, CA. For a complementary sales training needs analysis, call Ron at
1-818-519-3852 or send an email to: analysis@ast-incorp.com.
Over 100 LinkedIn recommendations can be found by clicking here:
http://tinyurl.com/2e7zllh
Hi Ron,
We have been using your cold calling system for over 5 years and it is as relevant today as it was back when my salesforce attended your training. Using your system never fails to get them to the right person in a very short period of time. Thanks for the recent coaching.
Best regards,
Mike Blaszak., VP of Sales
ISYS Search Software, Inc
Ron,
Although we don't correspond much, your training was one of the best because it was hands on, as you advertise.
Steven T, Account Manager
Dear Ron,
I've written this recommendation of your work to share with other LinkedIn users. Details of the Recommendation: "Ron is a tremendously talented, effective, and entertaining sales trainer. His telephone prospecting workshops provide an immediate return on investment."
Larry S. Sales Trainer
Hi Ron,
I hope all is well with you. Your training was the best sales training I ever received.
Michael W. Sales Rep
(Continued from Above)
Please describe how you use spreadsheets?
What do you do when your system goes down?
Please explain your funding process?
Compare for me how your test scores went down last year and up this year?
In what way do you measure your production?
To what extent has this been a problem?
Go through the steps when your production line goes down?
What happens when a system outage occurs?
These questions are designed to root out the problems, needs or challenges your prospect is incurring right now. The next question is one you need to ask yourself. Can you fix the problem with your solution?
If the answer is “yes” or even a partial “yes” then you have the basis for closing for an appointment. If the answer is “no”, you’re better off letting the prospect know up front rather than wasting their valuable time or yours.
REPRINT PERMISSION
Ron La Vine, MBA is president and founder of Accelerated Sales Training, Inc., a sales training firm located in Oak Park, CA. You can get a special report “41 sales Tips You Can Use Right Now” AND the free bimonthly Sales Tips for Selling Success eZine all by signing up at http://www.ast-incorp.com. If you would like information on Live Cold Calling Sales Training please call Ron at 818-991-6487 PST. © 2009 by Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
Make it a great day and a successful week!
Ron S. La Vine, MBA, President and CEO
Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
Live Cold Call New Business Development Sales Training™
Helping you Break into and Qualify New Accounts™
http://www.ast-incorp.com
Complementary Sales Tips
http://www.ast-incorp.com/free.htm
Join me at LinkedIn
http://www.linkedin.com/in/ronlavine
Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
638 Lindero Canyon Road, Suite 283
Oak Park, CA 91377
818-519-3852 Mobile
818-991-5938 Fax
mailto:rslavine@ast-incorp.com
President of Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
Sales professionals depend on knowing how to ask the right questions to discover the real needs of our clients. Often our clients tell us what they would like us to do, such as, "I need a solution on change management," but without telling us the ultimate result they want to achieve.
To be truly effective we must be able to help our clients articulate the cause of the problem and to be able to identify what would be different if the solution is successful. Armed with this additional information we can then design the most effective solution for the problem at hand.
So what are some examples of questions and statements you can use to open up the prospect to discussing their problems.
Help me understand. How do you measure your key performance indicators?
I would like to learn a little more about. What do you do when that happens?
Where do you find are the bottlenecks?
How high is the absentee rate?
What are the biggest challenges you are currently facing?
What are your top priorities over the next three months?
Tell me more about that…
Give me an idea how you currently process that specific type of data?
(Continued Below)
Accelerated Sales Training enables companies such as yours to:
◦Break into new accounts
◦Reach decision-makers
◦Identify and Qualify opportunities
◦Meet and exceed sales quotas
◦Shorten sales cycles
Examples of Key Results Produced
•Tripled call center lead generation performance while the Inside Sales group doubled its results in setting qualified appointments.
•Added 74 new customers in one quarter.
•Increased sales from $695 million to $1.1 billion over a 5 year period.
•Boosted sales by 19.3% quarterly and increased profit before taxes by 24% for the past fiscal year.
•Completed a $2.8 million in new license revenue at a major insurance company.
•Closed a $208,000 deal that paid for the entire prospecting program.
•Identified over $61 million in software revenues from 1989 to 1997.
Ron S. La Vine, MBA is president and founder of Accelerated Sales Training, Inc., a LIVE cold call/new business development sales training firm located in Oak Park, CA. For a complementary sales training needs analysis, call Ron at
1-818-519-3852 or send an email to: analysis@ast-incorp.com.
Over 100 LinkedIn recommendations can be found by clicking here:
http://tinyurl.com/2e7zllh
Hi Ron,
We have been using your cold calling system for over 5 years and it is as relevant today as it was back when my salesforce attended your training. Using your system never fails to get them to the right person in a very short period of time. Thanks for the recent coaching.
Best regards,
Mike Blaszak., VP of Sales
ISYS Search Software, Inc
Ron,
Although we don't correspond much, your training was one of the best because it was hands on, as you advertise.
Steven T, Account Manager
Dear Ron,
I've written this recommendation of your work to share with other LinkedIn users. Details of the Recommendation: "Ron is a tremendously talented, effective, and entertaining sales trainer. His telephone prospecting workshops provide an immediate return on investment."
Larry S. Sales Trainer
Hi Ron,
I hope all is well with you. Your training was the best sales training I ever received.
Michael W. Sales Rep
(Continued from Above)
Please describe how you use spreadsheets?
What do you do when your system goes down?
Please explain your funding process?
Compare for me how your test scores went down last year and up this year?
In what way do you measure your production?
To what extent has this been a problem?
Go through the steps when your production line goes down?
What happens when a system outage occurs?
These questions are designed to root out the problems, needs or challenges your prospect is incurring right now. The next question is one you need to ask yourself. Can you fix the problem with your solution?
If the answer is “yes” or even a partial “yes” then you have the basis for closing for an appointment. If the answer is “no”, you’re better off letting the prospect know up front rather than wasting their valuable time or yours.
REPRINT PERMISSION
Ron La Vine, MBA is president and founder of Accelerated Sales Training, Inc., a sales training firm located in Oak Park, CA. You can get a special report “41 sales Tips You Can Use Right Now” AND the free bimonthly Sales Tips for Selling Success eZine all by signing up at http://www.ast-incorp.com. If you would like information on Live Cold Calling Sales Training please call Ron at 818-991-6487 PST. © 2009 by Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
Make it a great day and a successful week!
Ron S. La Vine, MBA, President and CEO
Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
Live Cold Call New Business Development Sales Training™
Helping you Break into and Qualify New Accounts™
http://www.ast-incorp.com
Complementary Sales Tips
http://www.ast-incorp.com/free.htm
Join me at LinkedIn
http://www.linkedin.com/in/ronlavine
Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
638 Lindero Canyon Road, Suite 283
Oak Park, CA 91377
818-519-3852 Mobile
818-991-5938 Fax
mailto:rslavine@ast-incorp.com
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Make the Juice Worth the Squeeze!
Make the Juice Worth the Squeeze!
By Dr. Julie Miller
Consider these scenarios: Your Company is considering "streamlining" your department. Translated: Some folks must leave. Management tasks you with presenting ideas on how to address this issue. Or does this one sound familiar? The senior team wants the 30,000' view of your current project (no minutia, please!) along with recommendations and a timeline for the roll out.
What to do? Answer: Persuade, convince, and guide them towards the desired action you want. In other words, sell to them. As you create a sales letter, deliver a PowerPoint deck or send an email, keep these tips in mind as you think through the best approach for your desired results.
1. The Reader Reigns Supreme. If ever there was a time to get into the readers' head, it occurs when you need to convince them of your point of view. Perhaps you are garnering support for your cause and trying to get the gang on board. Or, you are writing an RFP explaining why you deserve the contract. Maybe you need to write sales copy for your product or service. In each of these instances, the reader reigns supreme.
The reader's position in the company will determine your approach and your word choice. For senior management types keep technical language to a minimum and emphasize market potential of the product or service. Include different approaches as well as costs and results. Alternatively, when presenting to those outside your field, simple, short explanations along with concrete examples seem to go over well. Stories and anecdotes also work. Try to avoid too much theory as eyes begin to glaze over.
2. Everyone Wins. Rather than the old win-lose sales paradigm, construct your topic around the idea that both sides win, thus leading to mutually rewarding results. Using the scenario example above, if you can sell to the team that eliminating jobs is not the answer but rather building a plan for increased efficiencies will gain more market share, they will sit up and listen. Both sides win. Your team keeps their jobs; the company makes more money.
3. It's All About Perception. You have heard it before-benefits sell, not features. However, benefits alone remain meaningless unless they appeal to the reader. It is how they perceive the value. Ask yourself: What will my reader/audience gain by approving my idea, buying our product, or signing up for our services? What direct value will they realize? What they gain must outweigh any costs, considerations, "yes, buts" or "howevers."
Your word choice should focus on creating the benefits your reader values. Guide your reader to conclude that what you are presenting or offering is worth the time, the money, and the resources to make it happen. For example, when you write, "I am sending this email because our department needs new computers," you will probably not get the result you want. However, by focusing on the perceived benefits and writing, "If you purchase new computers, our department projects double the productivity," you will see heightened interest and heads nodding in agreement! Of course, supporting data is important to make your case.
More About "Make the Juice Worth the Squeeze!" By Dr. Julie Miller Below
Accelerated Sales Training enables companies such as yours to:
◦Break into new accounts
◦Reach decision-makers
◦Identify and Qualify opportunities
◦Meet and exceed sales quotas
◦Shorten sales cycles
Examples of Key Results Produced
•Tripled call center lead generation performance while the Inside Sales group doubled its results in setting qualified appointments.
•Added 74 new customers in one quarter.
•Increased sales from $695 million to $1.1 billion over a 5 year period.
•Boosted sales by 19.3% quarterly and increased profit before taxes by 24% for the past fiscal year.
•Completed a $2.8 million in new license revenue at a major insurance company.
•Closed a $208,000 deal that paid for the entire prospecting program.
•Identified over $61 million in software revenues from 1989 to 1997.
Ron S. La Vine, MBA is president and founder of Accelerated Sales Training, Inc., a LIVE cold call/new business development sales training firm located in Oak Park, CA. For a complementary sales training needs analysis, call Ron at
1-818-519-3852 or send an email to: analysis@ast-incorp.com.
Over 100 LinkedIn recommendations can be found by clicking here:
http://tinyurl.com/2e7zllh
“Ron, brought new insights, ideas and techniques to my inside sales team. His style and class participation was a breath of fresh air and brought real live results into the training.“
Brian Jonkman
“Ron provided Cold Call Training that brought their expertise to a new level in the area of developing new business. The training made them more effective in identifying key contacts for every account they were pursuing.“
Bryan Jamgochian
“I'm writing to recommend Ron's Cold Calling Technique class. I took it as part of a sales training curriculum while I was Information Builders. In a nutshell, its not theory; it is immediately applicable - netting immediate results, i.e. access to key decision makers. His techniques will be part of my sales toolkit for the rest of my career.“
Glenn Wiebe
"Make the Juice Worth the Squeeze!" By Dr. Julie Miller Continued
4. Don't Dance with Me. Overworking a topic will gain you few friends. Tell your reader quickly what is in it for them. Help them understand why it is fair and equally beneficial. Then, guide them to their own conclusion. As a rule of thumb, if you are pitching your idea/product using a PowerPoint deck, dedicate no more than seven minutes to your topic. In an email, 300 words remains the limit.
5. Sharp and Shiny Sentences Sing. If you think you work at warp speed, remember so do your readers! Wordy, disorganized, vague, or slow-to-the-point documents gain few allies. Writing crisply will make your message stand out. That means no wasted words. Pay attention to overusage of these words: of, which, and that. Too many of these words weakens your writing. If your readers have to wade through worn and weary sentences filled with jargon and acronyms, you ask too much. If they have to reread your writing to make sense of it, you are on thin ice. If they work too hard to read those long, drawn out sentences, they will quit.
6. Style Counts! Here is a simple strategy you can use to immediately create more interest and style in your writing. Vary your sentence structure. With thirty-nine different ways to construct a sentence, you have no excuse for falling into the old subject-verb-object trap. By varying the pattern of your sentences, you keep your readers alert. You don't want your writing sounding like the messages on an ATM. For example, this standard style has a familiar ring: The third quarter profits exceeded expectations. However, if you make the sentence into a question: How much did the third-quarter profits exceed expectations? Or use a quotation: The chairman of the board gleefully announced, "The third-quarter profits exceeded my expectations!" you would move towards more interesting, more robust writing.
By using these tips to sell, you will start noticing some exciting changes in your writing. Just imagine getting that promotion, making that sale, or having your project approved and funded! So, to coin an old phrase, the pen is mightier than the sword-consider yourself armed and dangerous!
About the Author
Dr. Julie Miller, founder of Business Writing That Counts!, is a national consultant and trainer who helps professionals reduce their writing time and produce powerful documents. She and her team of certified trainers work with executives who want to hone their writing skills and professionals who want to advance their careers. Learn more about Dr. Julie Miller. http://www.businesswritingthatcounts.com/article2
REPRINT PERMISSION
Ron La Vine, MBA is president and founder of Accelerated Sales Training, Inc., a LIVE cold call training firm located in Oak Park, CA. You can get a special report “41 Sales Tips You Can Use Right Now” AND the complementary bimonthly Sales Tips and Telesales Tips for Selling Success eZine all by signing up at http://www.ast-incorp.com. If you would like information on Live Cold Calling/New Business Development Sales Training please call Ron at
1-818-519-3852.
Make it a great day and a successful week!
Ron S. La Vine, MBA, President and CEO
Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
Live Cold Call New Business Development Sales Training™
Helping you Break into and Qualify New Accounts™
http://www.ast-incorp.com
Complementary Sales Tips
http://www.ast-incorp.com/free.htm
Join me at LinkedIn
http://www.linkedin.com/in/ronlavine
Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
638 Lindero Canyon Road, Suite 283
Oak Park, CA 91377
818-519-3852 Mobile
818-991-5938 Fax
mailto:rslavine@ast-incorp.com
(c) 2010 by Accelerated Sales Training, Inc. -
Live Cold Call Sales Training Workshops.
All rights reserved. www.ast-incorp.com
Forward these Sales Tips to an Associate
Please forward these Sales Tips and Telesales
Tips for Selling Success to an associate who
could benefit from them, or have them send
. They will
appreciate the gesture and thank you for it. They
can also sign up now online at:
http://www.ast-incorp.com/
© 1996-2010
Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
All worldwide rights reserved.
By Dr. Julie Miller
Consider these scenarios: Your Company is considering "streamlining" your department. Translated: Some folks must leave. Management tasks you with presenting ideas on how to address this issue. Or does this one sound familiar? The senior team wants the 30,000' view of your current project (no minutia, please!) along with recommendations and a timeline for the roll out.
What to do? Answer: Persuade, convince, and guide them towards the desired action you want. In other words, sell to them. As you create a sales letter, deliver a PowerPoint deck or send an email, keep these tips in mind as you think through the best approach for your desired results.
1. The Reader Reigns Supreme. If ever there was a time to get into the readers' head, it occurs when you need to convince them of your point of view. Perhaps you are garnering support for your cause and trying to get the gang on board. Or, you are writing an RFP explaining why you deserve the contract. Maybe you need to write sales copy for your product or service. In each of these instances, the reader reigns supreme.
The reader's position in the company will determine your approach and your word choice. For senior management types keep technical language to a minimum and emphasize market potential of the product or service. Include different approaches as well as costs and results. Alternatively, when presenting to those outside your field, simple, short explanations along with concrete examples seem to go over well. Stories and anecdotes also work. Try to avoid too much theory as eyes begin to glaze over.
2. Everyone Wins. Rather than the old win-lose sales paradigm, construct your topic around the idea that both sides win, thus leading to mutually rewarding results. Using the scenario example above, if you can sell to the team that eliminating jobs is not the answer but rather building a plan for increased efficiencies will gain more market share, they will sit up and listen. Both sides win. Your team keeps their jobs; the company makes more money.
3. It's All About Perception. You have heard it before-benefits sell, not features. However, benefits alone remain meaningless unless they appeal to the reader. It is how they perceive the value. Ask yourself: What will my reader/audience gain by approving my idea, buying our product, or signing up for our services? What direct value will they realize? What they gain must outweigh any costs, considerations, "yes, buts" or "howevers."
Your word choice should focus on creating the benefits your reader values. Guide your reader to conclude that what you are presenting or offering is worth the time, the money, and the resources to make it happen. For example, when you write, "I am sending this email because our department needs new computers," you will probably not get the result you want. However, by focusing on the perceived benefits and writing, "If you purchase new computers, our department projects double the productivity," you will see heightened interest and heads nodding in agreement! Of course, supporting data is important to make your case.
More About "Make the Juice Worth the Squeeze!" By Dr. Julie Miller Below
Accelerated Sales Training enables companies such as yours to:
◦Break into new accounts
◦Reach decision-makers
◦Identify and Qualify opportunities
◦Meet and exceed sales quotas
◦Shorten sales cycles
Examples of Key Results Produced
•Tripled call center lead generation performance while the Inside Sales group doubled its results in setting qualified appointments.
•Added 74 new customers in one quarter.
•Increased sales from $695 million to $1.1 billion over a 5 year period.
•Boosted sales by 19.3% quarterly and increased profit before taxes by 24% for the past fiscal year.
•Completed a $2.8 million in new license revenue at a major insurance company.
•Closed a $208,000 deal that paid for the entire prospecting program.
•Identified over $61 million in software revenues from 1989 to 1997.
Ron S. La Vine, MBA is president and founder of Accelerated Sales Training, Inc., a LIVE cold call/new business development sales training firm located in Oak Park, CA. For a complementary sales training needs analysis, call Ron at
1-818-519-3852 or send an email to: analysis@ast-incorp.com.
Over 100 LinkedIn recommendations can be found by clicking here:
http://tinyurl.com/2e7zllh
“Ron, brought new insights, ideas and techniques to my inside sales team. His style and class participation was a breath of fresh air and brought real live results into the training.“
Brian Jonkman
“Ron provided Cold Call Training that brought their expertise to a new level in the area of developing new business. The training made them more effective in identifying key contacts for every account they were pursuing.“
Bryan Jamgochian
“I'm writing to recommend Ron's Cold Calling Technique class. I took it as part of a sales training curriculum while I was Information Builders. In a nutshell, its not theory; it is immediately applicable - netting immediate results, i.e. access to key decision makers. His techniques will be part of my sales toolkit for the rest of my career.“
Glenn Wiebe
"Make the Juice Worth the Squeeze!" By Dr. Julie Miller Continued
4. Don't Dance with Me. Overworking a topic will gain you few friends. Tell your reader quickly what is in it for them. Help them understand why it is fair and equally beneficial. Then, guide them to their own conclusion. As a rule of thumb, if you are pitching your idea/product using a PowerPoint deck, dedicate no more than seven minutes to your topic. In an email, 300 words remains the limit.
5. Sharp and Shiny Sentences Sing. If you think you work at warp speed, remember so do your readers! Wordy, disorganized, vague, or slow-to-the-point documents gain few allies. Writing crisply will make your message stand out. That means no wasted words. Pay attention to overusage of these words: of, which, and that. Too many of these words weakens your writing. If your readers have to wade through worn and weary sentences filled with jargon and acronyms, you ask too much. If they have to reread your writing to make sense of it, you are on thin ice. If they work too hard to read those long, drawn out sentences, they will quit.
6. Style Counts! Here is a simple strategy you can use to immediately create more interest and style in your writing. Vary your sentence structure. With thirty-nine different ways to construct a sentence, you have no excuse for falling into the old subject-verb-object trap. By varying the pattern of your sentences, you keep your readers alert. You don't want your writing sounding like the messages on an ATM. For example, this standard style has a familiar ring: The third quarter profits exceeded expectations. However, if you make the sentence into a question: How much did the third-quarter profits exceed expectations? Or use a quotation: The chairman of the board gleefully announced, "The third-quarter profits exceeded my expectations!" you would move towards more interesting, more robust writing.
By using these tips to sell, you will start noticing some exciting changes in your writing. Just imagine getting that promotion, making that sale, or having your project approved and funded! So, to coin an old phrase, the pen is mightier than the sword-consider yourself armed and dangerous!
About the Author
Dr. Julie Miller, founder of Business Writing That Counts!, is a national consultant and trainer who helps professionals reduce their writing time and produce powerful documents. She and her team of certified trainers work with executives who want to hone their writing skills and professionals who want to advance their careers. Learn more about Dr. Julie Miller. http://www.businesswritingthatcounts.com/article2
REPRINT PERMISSION
Ron La Vine, MBA is president and founder of Accelerated Sales Training, Inc., a LIVE cold call training firm located in Oak Park, CA. You can get a special report “41 Sales Tips You Can Use Right Now” AND the complementary bimonthly Sales Tips and Telesales Tips for Selling Success eZine all by signing up at http://www.ast-incorp.com. If you would like information on Live Cold Calling/New Business Development Sales Training please call Ron at
1-818-519-3852.
Make it a great day and a successful week!
Ron S. La Vine, MBA, President and CEO
Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
Live Cold Call New Business Development Sales Training™
Helping you Break into and Qualify New Accounts™
http://www.ast-incorp.com
Complementary Sales Tips
http://www.ast-incorp.com/free.htm
Join me at LinkedIn
http://www.linkedin.com/in/ronlavine
Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
638 Lindero Canyon Road, Suite 283
Oak Park, CA 91377
818-519-3852 Mobile
818-991-5938 Fax
mailto:rslavine@ast-incorp.com
(c) 2010 by Accelerated Sales Training, Inc. -
Live Cold Call Sales Training Workshops.
All rights reserved. www.ast-incorp.com
Forward these Sales Tips to an Associate
Please forward these Sales Tips and Telesales
Tips for Selling Success to an associate who
could benefit from them, or have them send
appreciate the gesture and thank you for it. They
can also sign up now online at:
http://www.ast-incorp.com/
© 1996-2010
Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
All worldwide rights reserved.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
How to Eliminate Rejection
How to Eliminate Rejection
By Ron S La Vine, President, Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
The way to eliminate rejection is to reframe or redefine it. Think of
cold calling as a puzzle. Challenge yourself to see how many pieces
of information you can get on every call. All of a sudden cold
calling has become a game, which makes it much more enjoyable.
This means if you get more information from your call than you had
before the call you have gotten a result. If you have gotten a result
then you have not been rejected.
Add to that the fact that people are not rejecting you personally.
They are simply not interested in what you have to offer now or you
could be speaking with the wrong person. That decision may
change in the future. Make the focus of your call your solution to a
potential need, challenge or problem. The solution, rather than you,
will become the focal point of the call. If an account declines to take
the time to speak with you, it is the solution or benefit that is
rejected, not you. Keeping this strategy in mind when you call can
take the sting out of rejection.
MAINTAINING AN ACHIEVEMENT ORIENTATION
Action follows thought so think great thoughts and focus on the
positive. What you think and how you feel transmits across the
phone lines. This transmittal can have a positive or negative effect
on the person at the other end of your call. Which effect takes place
is largely a function of the state of mind you are in when you are
making your calls.
Think of yourself as successful and well thought of and doing more
than you are asked to do. Help others as you have been helped and
you will be rewarded with the success you deserve. You are what
you think. Always keep in mind that your attitude determines your
altitude.
CONCLUSION
First is having the right attitude when you are cold calling. You will
hear this throughout most sales workshops because the right attitude
is the difference between those that give up and those who never
quit. There is no silver or magic bullet. Only practice and
persistence pay off. To become a great sales executive, one must
enjoy working with people and have a strong sense of curiosity,
great listening skills and the ability to see the big picture. The best
sales executives are able to produce results. Pay for performance is
the way they prefer to work.
A great sales executive is someone who has a working knowledge of
their organization's operations, solutions, and possesses the ability
to collect useful business sales intelligence about their accounts
and translate the information into additional sales. They are
persistent and keep going until they find the answers to their
questions. They get people to take actions based upon those
answers.
David R. Bender of the Special Libraries Association sums it up
well: "...how many people have the expertise to evaluate, analyze,
organize and package raw data-transforming it into meaningful
information that can be put to work?" As management expert Peter
Drucker wrote in a column for the Wall Street Journal, "There is a
big difference between being computer literate and information
literate."
Bender writes, "Drucker explained that for data to become useful
information, it must be organized for a task or applied to a
decision". He contended, however, "Few people are adept at
determining exactly what information they need to do their jobs,
when they need the information, and where they can get it."
A great sales executive knows what data is needed and how to
provide it in a manner to increase their sales. Top sales executives
focus on creating value for their clients and they do that by asking
well thought out questions and then listening closely to the answers
given.
Write out 10 questions in advance you would like to ask most of
a prospect to determine if they are qualified and keep it by the phone.
You'll be prepared if the call is incoming or outgoing.
--
Make it a great day and a successful week!
Ron S. La Vine, MBA, President
Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.'s -
Live Cold Call New Business Development Sales Training™
Helping you Break into and Qualify Large Accounts™
638 Lindero Canyon Road, Suite 283
Oak Park, CA 91377
818-991-6487 Office PST
818-519-3852 Mobile
818-991-5938 Fax
mailto:rslavine@ast-incorp.com
http://www.ast-incorp.com
Complimentary Sales Tips -
http://www.ast-incorp.com.com/free.htm
Join me at LinkedIn -
http://www.linkedin.com/in/ronlavine
By Ron S La Vine, President, Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
The way to eliminate rejection is to reframe or redefine it. Think of
cold calling as a puzzle. Challenge yourself to see how many pieces
of information you can get on every call. All of a sudden cold
calling has become a game, which makes it much more enjoyable.
This means if you get more information from your call than you had
before the call you have gotten a result. If you have gotten a result
then you have not been rejected.
Add to that the fact that people are not rejecting you personally.
They are simply not interested in what you have to offer now or you
could be speaking with the wrong person. That decision may
change in the future. Make the focus of your call your solution to a
potential need, challenge or problem. The solution, rather than you,
will become the focal point of the call. If an account declines to take
the time to speak with you, it is the solution or benefit that is
rejected, not you. Keeping this strategy in mind when you call can
take the sting out of rejection.
MAINTAINING AN ACHIEVEMENT ORIENTATION
Action follows thought so think great thoughts and focus on the
positive. What you think and how you feel transmits across the
phone lines. This transmittal can have a positive or negative effect
on the person at the other end of your call. Which effect takes place
is largely a function of the state of mind you are in when you are
making your calls.
Think of yourself as successful and well thought of and doing more
than you are asked to do. Help others as you have been helped and
you will be rewarded with the success you deserve. You are what
you think. Always keep in mind that your attitude determines your
altitude.
CONCLUSION
First is having the right attitude when you are cold calling. You will
hear this throughout most sales workshops because the right attitude
is the difference between those that give up and those who never
quit. There is no silver or magic bullet. Only practice and
persistence pay off. To become a great sales executive, one must
enjoy working with people and have a strong sense of curiosity,
great listening skills and the ability to see the big picture. The best
sales executives are able to produce results. Pay for performance is
the way they prefer to work.
A great sales executive is someone who has a working knowledge of
their organization's operations, solutions, and possesses the ability
to collect useful business sales intelligence about their accounts
and translate the information into additional sales. They are
persistent and keep going until they find the answers to their
questions. They get people to take actions based upon those
answers.
David R. Bender of the Special Libraries Association sums it up
well: "...how many people have the expertise to evaluate, analyze,
organize and package raw data-transforming it into meaningful
information that can be put to work?" As management expert Peter
Drucker wrote in a column for the Wall Street Journal, "There is a
big difference between being computer literate and information
literate."
Bender writes, "Drucker explained that for data to become useful
information, it must be organized for a task or applied to a
decision". He contended, however, "Few people are adept at
determining exactly what information they need to do their jobs,
when they need the information, and where they can get it."
A great sales executive knows what data is needed and how to
provide it in a manner to increase their sales. Top sales executives
focus on creating value for their clients and they do that by asking
well thought out questions and then listening closely to the answers
given.
Write out 10 questions in advance you would like to ask most of
a prospect to determine if they are qualified and keep it by the phone.
You'll be prepared if the call is incoming or outgoing.
--
Make it a great day and a successful week!
Ron S. La Vine, MBA, President
Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.'s -
Live Cold Call New Business Development Sales Training™
Helping you Break into and Qualify Large Accounts™
638 Lindero Canyon Road, Suite 283
Oak Park, CA 91377
818-991-6487 Office PST
818-519-3852 Mobile
818-991-5938 Fax
mailto:rslavine@ast-incorp.com
http://www.ast-incorp.com
Complimentary Sales Tips -
http://www.ast-incorp.com.com/free.htm
Join me at LinkedIn -
http://www.linkedin.com/in/ronlavine
Friday, August 27, 2010
Where to Find Trigger Events
Where to Find Trigger Events
by Ron S. La Vine
President of Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
Finding new business can be a snap, if you know where to look and what to do with the information you find. Using the telephone, the Internet along with publicly available information, you can turn triggers or business changes into sales.
Understanding the importance of the "fact finding step" in the sales cycle, is key to making more sales. We need information resources to enable us to determine who is responsible for decision making, where an account is now, where they want to be and how they plan to get there.
It is easy to mishandle this part of the sales cycle in an eagerness to sell. Finding trigger events about a shift in the way an account does business is not enough. Understanding the potential effects of change is key, to finding revenue producing events.
Examples of Trigger Events
Look for accounts in your territory who:
* Acquire, merge or joint venture with another company,
* Have been acquired by another company,
* Add additional equipment or hardware or facilities,
* Announce a change in staffing requirements or business, practices due to expansion, restructuring or relocation,
* Receive contract awards,
* Mention cost cutting initiatives,
* Outsource certain services to concentrate on core businesses,
* Are embarking on new projects,
* Issue an IPO to raise operating capital for buying more assets,
* Spin off a division into a new company with new ownership,
* Maybe affected by pending legislation or regulations.
Turning Trigger Events into Sales
Once a change occurs, ask yourself these questions. "How can my products fulfill a need or challenge as a result of the change?" "What additional services can my company provide to lessen the impact of the shift?" When the change effects an organization, who is your customer, ask yourself "How can I expand the use of or prevent the replacement of my solutions?"
For instance, you read an account plans to expand their operations. When companies expand or restructure, typically the management re-evaluates human resources and capital assets to decide what stays, what goes and what's needed. When preparing your sales strategy, keep in mind the big picture. An enterprise wide sale is far more valuable than an individual business unit sale.
More About
"Where to Find Trigger Events " Below
Who We Are
AST Inc. specializes in taking the fear and rejection out of cold calling into small, medium and large organizations for the purpose of setting up time and date specific next action steps and high level F2F appointments with decision makers.
What We Do
We use live cold calls into real prospects rather than lecture or theory. Many clients have found live cold calling training provide the missing piece of their current training and augments rather than replaces their existing training methods. The training is designed for both field and inside sales reps.
Who We Work With
AST Inc. delivers live cold calling training to organizations such as ASG, CA, HP/EDS, HP, IBM/Cognos, IBM/Informix, Informatica, Information Builders, iWAY Software, LRS, MeadWestvaco, MicroStrategy, NewPage, Pearson, Software AG, Thomson.
How You Benefit
Many clients have found the live cold calling training provides the missing piece of their current training and it augments rather than replaces their existing training methods. In our trainings both the reps and the instructor make live cold calls into real prospects real time producing amazing results.
Work actually gets done during the live cold call training.
What You Can Expect
· Reach decision makers faster resulting in a decrease of the sales cycle length.
· Set up a greater number of face-to-face, phone and web demo appointments resulting in a significant increase in the number of well-qualified prospects into the sales pipeline.
· Quickly penetrate new markets.
· Consistently qualify prospects faster resulting consistent filling of your sales pipeline and increased revenue growth.
Great class. Well worth the time and money.
Chuck Kleiner, VP of Sales
SMARTHINKING
Mark, you need to check this guy out. He is the real deal and will really accelerate the ISR's ability to execute. We used him at Cognos and in his training sessions he would bring in a speaker phone and in front of the class work with one student to perfect the pitch and actually arrange meetings! He also provides great techniques on the company that is blocking us. You will not be disappointed.
Steve Levin, Regional Manager
Ron, thanks for another great session! The feedback was amazing and what I liked the most was that the people who had been in that room for 2 weeks non stop were excited and motivated walking out of the training. Everyone was amazed at how effective it was.
Thanks again,
Mike P.
VP of Sales Support
Hey Ron,
My confidence on calling on CEOs and other C-levels has never been better than it is today.
Todd W., Sr. Account Executive
More About
"Where to Find Trigger Events "
Turning Trigger Events into Sales
Once a change occurs, ask yourself these questions. "How can my products fulfill a need or challenge as a result of the change?" "What additional services can my company provide to lessen the impact of the shift?" When the change effects an organization, who is your customer, ask yourself "How can I expand the use of or prevent the replacement of my solutions?"
For instance, you read an account plans to expand their operations. When companies expand or restructure, typically the management re-evaluates human resources and capital assets to decide what stays, what goes and what's needed. When preparing your sales strategy, keep in mind the big picture. An enterprise wide sale is far more valuable than an individual business unit sale.
Different Ways to Create More Sales
1. Assembling a plan showing how the effects of the change relate to the benefits your products and services provide can position you for a sale.
2. Taking note of changes or trends that may affect both you and your account's industries will make you sound intelligent and increase the odds of a sale.
3. Looking for stories about accounts using your competitor's products and applying that application to your offerings is another way to make more sales.
4. Keeping your account records up to date allows you to invest your time locating who is responsible for and capable of making a buying decision.
5. Finding and calling up users of your competitor's products is a way to replace or augment existing products. Be sure to explain up front, you are looking for ways to improve your products.
* What do you like about their products or services?
* Is there anything you dislike or have found unsatisfactory?
* If you had a wish list, what features would you like to see their product have?
Assuming your service provides missing features and benefits your competitors do not offer, you have yourself a potential sale.
6. Calling your customers pro-actively and assuring them of continuous service provides an opening to
* Find out more about an account's future strategic direction.
* Expand and cement contact relationships,
* Uncover potential evaluations, projects or initiatives,
* Locate the main or new users of your products,
* Gauge customer satisfaction and nip potential problems in the bud before they become unmanageable,
* Offer consulting services, education or documentation,
* Inquire about other business units that may need your products,
* Provide greater customer service, making difficult for competitors to replace your products.
Understanding the effects of change can present an opportunity to persuade management to invest in new products, services or technologies.
A Few Sources of Business Sales Intelligence™ or Trigger Events
•An account's sales literature
•Employee telephone interviews
•Competitor user telephone interviews
•Online and hard copy business and finance publications
•State and federal government agencies such as the Office of Management and Budget
•Using the Freedom of Information Act to obtain your competitor's GSA (General Services Administration) schedules
•Career advertisements
•Visit the SEC website
•Other suppliers who service your account
•Press Releases
•Trade Event Announcements
Finding information is easy. Systematically connecting the shift effect or trigger events to the benefits your solutions provide, is the challenge. Correlating specific benefits to specific contact wins will place you in a position to watch your sales climb. However, you must act upon the change, before your competitors do. Change is constant and change creates sales opportunities.
REPRINT PERMISSION
Ron La Vine, MBA is president and founder of Accelerated Sales Training, Inc., a LIVE cold call training firm located in Oak Park, CA. You can get a special report “41 sales Tips You Can Use Right Now” AND the free bimonthly Sales Tips and Telesales Tips for Selling Success eZine all by signing up at http://www.ast-incorp.com. If you would like information on Live Cold Calling Sales Training please call Ron at 818-991-6487 PST. © 2010 by Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
Until then. . .
Make it a great day and a successful week!
Ron
by Ron S. La Vine
President of Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
Finding new business can be a snap, if you know where to look and what to do with the information you find. Using the telephone, the Internet along with publicly available information, you can turn triggers or business changes into sales.
Understanding the importance of the "fact finding step" in the sales cycle, is key to making more sales. We need information resources to enable us to determine who is responsible for decision making, where an account is now, where they want to be and how they plan to get there.
It is easy to mishandle this part of the sales cycle in an eagerness to sell. Finding trigger events about a shift in the way an account does business is not enough. Understanding the potential effects of change is key, to finding revenue producing events.
Examples of Trigger Events
Look for accounts in your territory who:
* Acquire, merge or joint venture with another company,
* Have been acquired by another company,
* Add additional equipment or hardware or facilities,
* Announce a change in staffing requirements or business, practices due to expansion, restructuring or relocation,
* Receive contract awards,
* Mention cost cutting initiatives,
* Outsource certain services to concentrate on core businesses,
* Are embarking on new projects,
* Issue an IPO to raise operating capital for buying more assets,
* Spin off a division into a new company with new ownership,
* Maybe affected by pending legislation or regulations.
Turning Trigger Events into Sales
Once a change occurs, ask yourself these questions. "How can my products fulfill a need or challenge as a result of the change?" "What additional services can my company provide to lessen the impact of the shift?" When the change effects an organization, who is your customer, ask yourself "How can I expand the use of or prevent the replacement of my solutions?"
For instance, you read an account plans to expand their operations. When companies expand or restructure, typically the management re-evaluates human resources and capital assets to decide what stays, what goes and what's needed. When preparing your sales strategy, keep in mind the big picture. An enterprise wide sale is far more valuable than an individual business unit sale.
More About
"Where to Find Trigger Events " Below
Who We Are
AST Inc. specializes in taking the fear and rejection out of cold calling into small, medium and large organizations for the purpose of setting up time and date specific next action steps and high level F2F appointments with decision makers.
What We Do
We use live cold calls into real prospects rather than lecture or theory. Many clients have found live cold calling training provide the missing piece of their current training and augments rather than replaces their existing training methods. The training is designed for both field and inside sales reps.
Who We Work With
AST Inc. delivers live cold calling training to organizations such as ASG, CA, HP/EDS, HP, IBM/Cognos, IBM/Informix, Informatica, Information Builders, iWAY Software, LRS, MeadWestvaco, MicroStrategy, NewPage, Pearson, Software AG, Thomson.
How You Benefit
Many clients have found the live cold calling training provides the missing piece of their current training and it augments rather than replaces their existing training methods. In our trainings both the reps and the instructor make live cold calls into real prospects real time producing amazing results.
Work actually gets done during the live cold call training.
What You Can Expect
· Reach decision makers faster resulting in a decrease of the sales cycle length.
· Set up a greater number of face-to-face, phone and web demo appointments resulting in a significant increase in the number of well-qualified prospects into the sales pipeline.
· Quickly penetrate new markets.
· Consistently qualify prospects faster resulting consistent filling of your sales pipeline and increased revenue growth.
Great class. Well worth the time and money.
Chuck Kleiner, VP of Sales
SMARTHINKING
Mark, you need to check this guy out. He is the real deal and will really accelerate the ISR's ability to execute. We used him at Cognos and in his training sessions he would bring in a speaker phone and in front of the class work with one student to perfect the pitch and actually arrange meetings! He also provides great techniques on the company that is blocking us. You will not be disappointed.
Steve Levin, Regional Manager
Ron, thanks for another great session! The feedback was amazing and what I liked the most was that the people who had been in that room for 2 weeks non stop were excited and motivated walking out of the training. Everyone was amazed at how effective it was.
Thanks again,
Mike P.
VP of Sales Support
Hey Ron,
My confidence on calling on CEOs and other C-levels has never been better than it is today.
Todd W., Sr. Account Executive
More About
"Where to Find Trigger Events "
Turning Trigger Events into Sales
Once a change occurs, ask yourself these questions. "How can my products fulfill a need or challenge as a result of the change?" "What additional services can my company provide to lessen the impact of the shift?" When the change effects an organization, who is your customer, ask yourself "How can I expand the use of or prevent the replacement of my solutions?"
For instance, you read an account plans to expand their operations. When companies expand or restructure, typically the management re-evaluates human resources and capital assets to decide what stays, what goes and what's needed. When preparing your sales strategy, keep in mind the big picture. An enterprise wide sale is far more valuable than an individual business unit sale.
Different Ways to Create More Sales
1. Assembling a plan showing how the effects of the change relate to the benefits your products and services provide can position you for a sale.
2. Taking note of changes or trends that may affect both you and your account's industries will make you sound intelligent and increase the odds of a sale.
3. Looking for stories about accounts using your competitor's products and applying that application to your offerings is another way to make more sales.
4. Keeping your account records up to date allows you to invest your time locating who is responsible for and capable of making a buying decision.
5. Finding and calling up users of your competitor's products is a way to replace or augment existing products. Be sure to explain up front, you are looking for ways to improve your products.
* What do you like about their products or services?
* Is there anything you dislike or have found unsatisfactory?
* If you had a wish list, what features would you like to see their product have?
Assuming your service provides missing features and benefits your competitors do not offer, you have yourself a potential sale.
6. Calling your customers pro-actively and assuring them of continuous service provides an opening to
* Find out more about an account's future strategic direction.
* Expand and cement contact relationships,
* Uncover potential evaluations, projects or initiatives,
* Locate the main or new users of your products,
* Gauge customer satisfaction and nip potential problems in the bud before they become unmanageable,
* Offer consulting services, education or documentation,
* Inquire about other business units that may need your products,
* Provide greater customer service, making difficult for competitors to replace your products.
Understanding the effects of change can present an opportunity to persuade management to invest in new products, services or technologies.
A Few Sources of Business Sales Intelligence™ or Trigger Events
•An account's sales literature
•Employee telephone interviews
•Competitor user telephone interviews
•Online and hard copy business and finance publications
•State and federal government agencies such as the Office of Management and Budget
•Using the Freedom of Information Act to obtain your competitor's GSA (General Services Administration) schedules
•Career advertisements
•Visit the SEC website
•Other suppliers who service your account
•Press Releases
•Trade Event Announcements
Finding information is easy. Systematically connecting the shift effect or trigger events to the benefits your solutions provide, is the challenge. Correlating specific benefits to specific contact wins will place you in a position to watch your sales climb. However, you must act upon the change, before your competitors do. Change is constant and change creates sales opportunities.
REPRINT PERMISSION
Ron La Vine, MBA is president and founder of Accelerated Sales Training, Inc., a LIVE cold call training firm located in Oak Park, CA. You can get a special report “41 sales Tips You Can Use Right Now” AND the free bimonthly Sales Tips and Telesales Tips for Selling Success eZine all by signing up at http://www.ast-incorp.com. If you would like information on Live Cold Calling Sales Training please call Ron at 818-991-6487 PST. © 2010 by Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.
Until then. . .
Make it a great day and a successful week!
Ron
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